Serbia arrests criminal police chief Kricak in abuse of office case

The update

Serbian authorities arrested Marko Kricak, 42, head of the country’s criminal police directorate, on Sunday on suspicion of abuse of office. Prosecutors accuse him of suppressing and manipulating the investigation into the May murder of a suspected underworld figure in a Belgrade restaurant. Organised crime commander Bosko Sekulovic was also arrested after former Belgrade police chief Veselin Milic accused both men of giving prosecutors incomplete and false evidence.

Why it matters

Kricak is seen as a loyalist of Aleksandar Vucic, whose Serbian Progressive Party lost the October 25 parliamentary elections to the student-backed Student List, ending 14 years in power. Student groups had accused Kricak of brutality during protests and demanded his removal. Chief prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic insisted the arrest has no link to the election result, but the case will test whether Serbia’s institutions can pursue senior figures from the former governing camp independently.

What to watch

Watch whether prosecutors seek custody for Kricak and Sekulovic, whether the murder investigation is reopened or widened, and whether other police and intelligence officials face scrutiny as a new government forms. The handling of the case will also shape public trust after two years of protests over corruption and accountability.

Sources

• dw.com — confirms the arrest, the abuse of office charge and the prosecutor’s denial of an election link
• aljazeera.com — confirms Sekulovic’s arrest, the Milic allegations and the October 25 election context