Serbian prosecutor's office slams politician for naming interrogator, amid leak concerns

Serbia's Higher Public Prosecutor's Office (VJT) has issued a strong condemnation against Zdravko Ponoš, leader of the Srbija Centar party, for publicly identifying the prosecutor handling his interrogation. Ponoš was questioned in connection with the "sound cannon" case, which involves allegations of preparing acts against the constitutional order.

The VJT stated that Ponoš "sharply objected" to the "public targeting" of the prosecutor, Vladimir Živković, from the Special Department for Combating High-Tech Crime. This public naming occurred immediately after Ponoš's questioning, which took place at the offices of the Service for Combating Terrorism.

“

Yes, I was present at that protest before the use of the sound cannon.

However, critics argue that the VJT itself is being instrumentalized for political aims. They point to the fact that details of Ponoš's interrogation were broadcast live by the Informer tabloid shortly after it concluded. Dragan J. Vučićević, the owner and editor-in-chief of Informer, read excerpts from Ponoš's statement during the live broadcast, raising questions about how the tabloid obtained the information so quickly.

“

The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade strongly objects to the public targeting of the acting public prosecutor of the Special Department for Combating High-Tech Crime of this prosecutor's office by politician Z.P.

Ponoš himself has pushed back against the VJT's criticism, accusing prosecutor Živković of violating the law. He claims that Živković either allowed or failed to prevent police officers from the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP), who were acting on his orders, from delivering an official note of the conversation to Informer minutes after Ponoš signed it. Ponoš alleges that the leak was orchestrated despite the interrogation taking place within a security-focused unit.

This incident is part of a series of interrogations conducted by the VJT since June 19, following suspicions of a simulated use of a sound cannon by students on March 15. Previous individuals questioned include military analyst Aleksandar Radić, Beta news agency editor Vojkan Kostić, Srbin Info portal editor Dejan Zlatanović, and lawyer Aleksandar Olenik. The fact that none were detained after their police interviews suggests a lack of sufficient evidence for the initial charges.

“

Where is the legality, Stefanović? That prosecutor, Vladimir Živković, has just broken the law by allowing or not preventing or not sanctioning that police officers from the UKP, who acted on his order, delivered an official note of the conversation with me to Informer a few minutes after I signed it.