Kričak and Sekulović present their defence to prosecutors

They were questioned on suspicion that, between May 12 and June 3, while acting as officials of the Serbian Ministry of Interior, they abused and exceeded their official powers and failed to perform their official duties, thereby causing damage and seriously violating the rights of the injured party, former head of the Belgrade Police Department V.M., in connection with their handling of the investigation into the May 12 murder of A.N. at the "27" restaurant.

In addition, Criminal Police Directorate chief Marko K. was questioned over suspicions that, on May 16, 2026, he and other unidentified police officers abused and tortured the injured party, N.L., on the premises of the Criminal Police Directorate.

The suspects presented their defence during questioning, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Following the questioning, the prosecution asked the pre-trial judge of the Higher Court in Belgrade to order the detention of the heads of the Criminal Police Directorate and the Crime Suppression Service to prevent them from influencing witnesses and committing further criminal offences within a short period of time.

The Higher Court in Belgrade granted the request and ordered both men to be held in custody for up to 30 days.

The head of the Criminal Police Directorate is charged with abuse of official position and abuse and torture, while the head of the Crime Suppression Service is charged with abuse of official position.

There are suspicions that, in violation of Article 288, paragraphs 8 and 9, of the Criminal Procedure Code, Boško S. prepared a criminal complaint against Saša V. on May 15 for the murder of A.N. The complaint also named several other individuals, including V.M., in connection with the alleged offences of assisting an offender after the commission of a criminal offence and failing to report a criminal offence and its perpetrator.

Boško S. allegedly did so despite knowing, at the time the complaint was prepared, that V.M. had left the scene—the "27" restaurant in Senjak—accompanied by his security detail before Saša V. committed the murder.

He was aware of this from the contents of official records documenting information received from citizens V.Š., P.U., N.M., V.R. and M.J., whose statements indicate a different factual situation from the one described in the criminal complaint filed against the injured party, V.M.

The contents of the aforementioned official records indicate that the injured party, V.M., had left the "27" restaurant before the now-deceased A.N. returned to the establishment.

Furthermore, Boško S. failed to include in the criminal complaint any reference to the security camera footage, which was seized under a receipt for temporarily confiscated items dated May 14, 2026. The footage shows that the injured party, V.M., had left the restaurant in question.

He also failed to immediately hand over the hard drives and CDs containing the aforementioned footage, as well as the mobile phones belonging to the injured party, V.M., to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Group, despite an order issued on May 17, 2026, by the acting public prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade. Instead, he handed over the evidence to Military Police officers only on May 22, 2026, with the electronic devices improperly packed in two paper bags.

Marko K. is suspected of having verbally authorised Boško S. to file the aforementioned criminal complaint with the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, despite being aware of its contents. He allegedly knew about the matter both through media coverage of the criminal case and through his communication with the chief public prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade concerning the handover of V.M.'s mobile phones to the Military Police for forensic examination.

This included the order issued on May 17, 2026, instructing that the phones, which had been seized following a search of V.M.'s official vehicle, be handed over to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Group, which was to conduct a forensic examination of the devices.

Even after the public prosecutor's order had been repeated several times, it was not complied with until May 21, 2026, when the acting prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade contacted B.S. over the failure to submit V.M.'s mobile phones for examination and forensic analysis, despite repeated instructions to do so. He was told in response that the contents of the phones were still being processed for the purpose of supplementing the investigation.

There are also grounds for suspicion that, on May 16, 2026, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., Marko K., acting in his capacity as head of the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP), abused the injured party, N.L., while on duty at the UKP premises.

According to the allegations, he and unidentified police officers first struck N.L. repeatedly with open and closed fists in the head area, then placed a hood over his head, causing him to suffocate.

The suspects then allegedly removed his socks and beat him on the soles of his feet and back with a belt. As a result, N.L. sustained minor bodily injuries, including bruising to his right lower limb and right foot.