The leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Dragan Djilas, stated that Maja Popovic” is “an operative of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA)” who was named the country’s Justice Minister by President Aleksandar Vucic, “the leader of the organized crime group destroying Serbia”. He also argued that Nenad Stefanovic, the head of the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, behaves like Vucic’s “personal prosecutor”.

„The ongoing debate among several prosecutors and the Minister of Justice over my comments about Prosecutor Nikola Pantelic, which they describe as a threat and pressure on the Prosecution, has been going on for days. Since everyone is talking about me, even though I lack the power to send anyone to prison, I could accuse them of threatening and pressuring me to stop informing the public about how the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office operates,“ Djilas said.

He added that numerous cases involving individuals close to the President and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) are protected, while those opposing the regime are persecuted.

„As for the fact that there is not a single serious case of corruption prosecution in a country where corruption kills and which ranks among the most corrupt in Europe, I won’t even mention it. Regarding Prosecutor Predrag Milovanovic’s statement that my comments represent ‘an attack not only on the professional but also on the personal integrity of Prosecutor Pantelic,’ I can only say that I expected him to address the fact that Mr. Pantelic ordered criminal charges to be filed against MPs Marinika Tepic and Mila Popovic, who were peacefully standing on a bridge, citing ‘obstruction of official duties.’ I expected him to comment on the fact that the same prosecutor filed charges against three activists for blocking traffic but did not demand charges against those who beat students, MPs, and citizens on the streets of Belgrade, thus abusing his position,“ Djilas stated.

He said he also expected Milovanovic to comment on the fact that the Appellate Court has returned the indictment in the fabricated „Boulevard Affair“ against his associates nine times over the past decade, yet the Prosecution filed it for the tenth time.

He concluded by addressing those in the Prosecution who, he argued, prioritize Vucic’s wishes over the law:

„I am not afraid of Vucic or his criminals, so I am certainly not afraid of you either. You have no reason to fear me, as in the country we will build, those who break the law will be dealt with not by politicians, but by real police and a real judiciary,“ Djilas stressed.