Dacic refers N1 to police directorate over missing patrol

A patrol that an N1 crew called to Kraljevica Marka Street in Belgrade on Saturday, October 3, never arrived, and caretaker Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the next day that he does not know why. Asked by a reporter, he answered briefly: “I really don’t know.” On everything else, he sent journalists to the Police Directorate.

What happened on Kraljevica Marka Street?

According to N1, reporter Mladen Savatovic and cameraman Ivan Pavlovic were filming a building in Savski venac on Saturday that is owned by Vladimir Mandic, a former handball player. N1 says the filming was prompted by suspicions that voters who do not live at that address are registered there. In one article, the newsroom describes Mandic as a prominent member of the SNS, and in a statement as a businessman close to the Serbian Progressive Party.

Two older men approached the crew. One introduced himself as the building’s doorman and tried to forbid the filming, even though the crew was on a public area. N1 claims this was Momcilo Mandic, the owner’s father, and that he insulted and threatened Savatovic and tried to attack him physically. According to N1, the attack was stopped by Vladimir Kovacevic, who the newsroom learned is a police officer.

Savatovic called the police from the scene. As N1 reports, the patrol’s arrival was confirmed, but nobody showed up. N1’s materials contain no response from Momcilo Mandic to these allegations.

What did Dacic say at Palilula?

Dacic was asked about the incident on October 4, after a World War II bomb was detonated at Palilula. The minister said he is not responsible for police matters, and then explained how authority is divided within the Interior Ministry (MUP):

“I would just like you to separate some things. The MUP is made up of several sectors and several parts. I am the Interior Minister, and I can speak, for example, about the Sector for Emergency Situations, which I lead in a way as minister, through the head of the sector, that is, my assistant. The Police Directorate runs the police.”

He then told the N1 journalist to contact the Police Directorate, and explained why:

“So these are operational questions that concern the police. You simply have to understand that times have changed compared to the old days. I would like them not to have, but they have. The police is an operationally independent body that does not account to anyone, unless there is a specific inquiry, so you can send an inquiry to the Police Directorate and they will answer you. But there is no reason for anyone not to send such questions to the police, the police reacts, I do not believe the police has any biased attitude toward people who file reports and it will always react.”

Asked whether he knows who Vladimir Kovacevic is, Dacic gave the same answer: “I really don’t know. I have already said I don’t know. Anything you have regarding the police, contact the police.” N1 does not say that the Police Directorate had responded by the time of publication.

What came before Saturday’s attack?

The day before, on October 2, Savatovic was threatened on Nikola Pasic Square, in front of the Belgrade City Assembly. According to N1, an unknown man told him: “It’s your luck I’m with my wife, next time I’ll smash your head.” Then, N1 writes, he walked away, came back and added: “I fought a war for this country, and you are destroying it. Watch yourself.” That case was reported to the competent prosecutor’s office.

In a statement, the N1 newsroom asked the police and prosecutors to establish all circumstances of the events without delay and take the measures provided by law. From the Interior Ministry, it expects an answer on why the patrol did not come to the scene. The newsroom also asked public officials not to use “inflammatory rhetoric ahead of the elections” to create an atmosphere in which its journalists work at heightened risk to their safety.

The journalists’ associations NUNS, UNS and ANEM also condemned the attack on Savatovic.