{"id":8535,"date":"2016-02-29T18:52:17","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T17:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.krik.rs\/en\/?p=8535"},"modified":"2016-02-29T18:52:17","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T17:52:17","slug":"belgrade-mayor-stands-by-police-chief-who-interfered-in-journalists-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.krik.rs\/en\/belgrade-mayor-stands-by-police-chief-who-interfered-in-journalists-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgrade Mayor Stands By Police Chief Who Interfered in Journalists\u2019 Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Belgrade’s mayor, Sini\u0161a Mali, has\u00a0refused<\/a> to comply with a\u00a0request<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Serbia’s Ombudsman to fire the chief of the Communal Police for obstructing journalists\u00a0trying to investigate corruption.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: GlobalVoices<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Belgrade’s Communal Police obstructed journalists working for\u00a0the fact-checking website Istinomer<\/a> (Truth-O-Meter) in September 2015<\/a>\u00a0and reporters from the\u00a0Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK)<\/a>\u00a0in October 2015. Ninety\u00a0days later, the Ombudsman intervened, requesting the replacement of the chief of the controversial law enforcement unit. Two months\u00a0after that, the city government accepted the content of the recommendation, admitting guilt for breaking the regulations through the illegal use of force, but the police chief suffered no consequences.<\/p>\n

On February 24, the Ombudsman announced<\/a>\u00a0that he’d received a report claiming that the Communal Police had implemented his 32 recommendations in the case of Istinomer. The Ombudsman emphasized, however, that he still expects police\u00a0to comply with his\u00a0recommendations regarding the KRIK case (specifically calling for the dismissal of the chief of the Communal Police).<\/p>\n

The city’s law enforcement has\u00a0issued a statement<\/a>\u00a0saying, \u201cIn the future, [we]\u00a0will act according to the law only.\u201d Belgrade’s mayor\u00a0said publicly<\/a>\u00a0on February 26 that he and the Communal Police both apologize for the incidents last year with journalists, arguing that reforming certain police procedures would be a sufficient response.<\/p>\n

In response, the team at Istinomer\u00a0stated<\/a> that reject\u00a0the mayor’s position, which they say makes\u00a0abusing state authority inconsequential:<\/p>\n

With this statement, Mayor Mali practically abolishes the RESPONSIBILITY of state officials who do their job badly\u2014in this particular case, both through action and inaction.<\/p>\n

The Communal Police chief, who persistently defended the proven misconduct of his subordinates, simply MUST know the regulations of the office and must apply them. The behavior of Nikole Risti\u0107 during and after the incidents shows that he either doesn’t know the regulations affecting the unit he manages, or if he is aware of the regulations, and provides cover to those who break them, which is even worse. What use do the citizens and the city government have for such an official?<\/p>\n

And this is the real reason for Risti\u0107’s resignation. He did not commit an unintentional mishap, which could lead to clemency. His personal involvement in the incident<\/a> with the journalists of KRIK, involving illegal confiscation of equipment and erasing of footage, indicates intent. During the incident chief Risti\u0107 did admonish or prevent his men who were breaking the law.<\/p>\n

This proves that the Communal Police chief does not care if his officers follow the rules, of\u00a0they use violence, or if they violate the dignity of journalists, both as citizens and professionals. He only cares about protecting his men.<\/p>\n

And this is the real reason why should he be replaced\u2014for applying a\u00a0principle that\u00a0is in direct conflict with any state post: defending his men at any cost, against justice, the law, or the citizens.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As KRIK points out<\/a>, Police Chief Nikola Risti\u0107 and his deputy Darko Vujsi\u0107 personally obstructed the work of KRIK journalists who were attempting\u00a0to question the mayor<\/a> about the \u201c24 apartments\u201d scandal. The Belgrade city government has a deadline by the beginning of April<\/a>to implement the Ombudsman’s recommendation and report to this institution.<\/p>\n

The Communal Police is a special kind of municipal police in Serbia, answering directly to the local government, outside the chain of command of the Interior Ministry. According to the law, its\u00a0powers are more limited than those of the regular police. During 2015, Belgrade’s Communal Police used force<\/a> against the citizens 48 times, almost once per week.<\/p>\n

Twitter users\u00a0have expressed\u00a0fears<\/a> that expanding the\u00a0powers of the Communal Police has turned it into a kind of parapolice<\/a> force. As in\u00a0the case of Mayor Mali, incidents where\u00a0the\u00a0Communal Police oversteps its bounds, some Internet users say, often trigger support from\u00a0officials close to Serbia’s prime minister, Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belgrade’s mayor, Sini\u0161a Mali, has\u00a0refused to comply with a\u00a0request\u00a0by\u00a0Serbia’s Ombudsman to fire the chief of the Communal Police for obstructing journalists\u00a0trying to investigate corruption. Source: GlobalVoices Belgrade’s Communal Police obstructed journalists working for\u00a0the fact-checking website Istinomer (Truth-O-Meter) in September 2015\u00a0and reporters from the\u00a0Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK)\u00a0in October 2015. [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nBelgrade Mayor Stands By Police Chief Who Interfered in Journalists\u2019 Work - KRIK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.krik.rs\/en\/belgrade-mayor-stands-by-police-chief-who-interfered-in-journalists-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belgrade Mayor Stands By Police Chief Who Interfered in Journalists\u2019 Work - KRIK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Belgrade’s mayor, Sini\u0161a Mali, has\u00a0refused to comply with a\u00a0request\u00a0by\u00a0Serbia’s Ombudsman to fire the chief of the Communal Police for obstructing journalists\u00a0trying to investigate corruption. Source: GlobalVoices Belgrade’s Communal Police obstructed journalists working for\u00a0the fact-checking website Istinomer (Truth-O-Meter) in September 2015\u00a0and reporters from the\u00a0Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK)\u00a0in October 2015. 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