Serbia Arrests Criminal Police Chief on Abuse of Office Allegations

Serbian authorities have arrested Marko Kricak, head of the country's criminal police directorate, on suspicion of abuse of office. Belgrade's chief prosecutor said Bosko Sekulovic, the police commander in charge of fighting organised crime, was also arrested on Sunday.

Chief prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic said Kricak, 42, and Sekulovic were suspected of abusing their offices and failing to uphold their duties, thereby causing prejudice and serious harm to the rights of Belgrade's former police chief, Veselin Milic.

The allegations surfaced in an investigation into the murder of a suspected criminal underworld figure in a Belgrade restaurant in May.

Milic was arrested days after the murder for failing to report the crime and helping the perpetrator. While in custody, he began legal action against Kricak and Sekulovic, accusing them of giving prosecutors incomplete and false evidence.

Kricak is seen as a loyalist to defeated President Aleksandar Vucic. Student groups accused him of 'brutality' in the police response to the demonstrations that helped bring down Vucic's ruling party.

Last week the students demanded his removal, along with that of several other police and intelligence chiefs, as part of sweeping reforms. However, the prosecutor's office mentioned no link between the arrest and the students' demands.

Stefanovic told journalists: 'This arrest has no link with the result of the legislative elections.'

The student-backed Student List won a historic victory in snap elections on October 25. Vucic had called the early vote after nearly two years of protests, and the result ended 14 years of rule by his Serbian Progressive Party.

The arrests come as Serbia marks two years since the Novi Sad railway station disaster. On Sunday, thousands gathered in Novi Sad and observed 16 minutes of silence, one for each of the 16 people killed when a concrete canopy collapsed at the city's newly renovated station, as students marched silently through the rain carrying wreaths.

Dijana Hrka, whose 27-year-old son Stefan was killed in the disaster, told the AFP news agency: 'It's hard to go back to the place where it all happened. I believe justice will be served.' In a statement, students said 'tragedy' was not enough to describe what happened, because behind that word one can conceal the word everyone is looking for: responsibility.