Prosecutor's office dismisses part of criminal complaint against Milic

BELGRADE - The Higher Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade dismissed on Tuesday a part of a criminal complaint against former Belgrade police chief Veselin Milic accusing him of the crime of assisting the perpetrator of a criminal offence following the commission of a criminal offence.

In a statement, the Prosecutor's Office said the charges had been dismissed as it could not be suspected that the criminal offence the accused, identified as Veselin M, was prosecuted for ex officio had been committed.

It also said it continued to gather evidence in connection with the part of the criminal complaint accusing him of the crime of failure to report a criminal offence and the perpetrator of a criminal offence.

During an investigation into the criminal offence of a May 12 aggravated murder of a man identified as A N at the restaurant "27" in Belgrade, it has been established that there is no evidence that the accused has committed the crime of assisting the perpetrator of a criminal offence following the commission of a criminal offence, the statement said, adding that a factual description of actions provided in the complaint did not correspond to facts established in the proceedings.

Based on footage from several surveillance cameras, base station records and an expertise of mobile phones, as well as based on eyewitness accounts, statements by the defence of the accused and other evidence, it has been established, undeniably and unequivocally, that Veselin M was not, and could not have been, on the scene of crimes committed, and that the suspect did not help the other accused in the case to remove traces of the criminal offences, the Prosecutor's Office said.

It also said it had been established that Veselin M had been aware of the May 12 incident at the restaurant and that, as an official person, he had failed to report the said criminal offences, of which he had become aware while performing his official duty.

The evidence gathered raises suspicion that, in the night between May 12 and 13, Veselin M was informed of the incident by phone by the restaurant owner, a suspect identified as N L, but failed to report the criminal offences committed in spite of the fact that it was his duty to do so, the Prosecutor's Office said.

Other patrons were inside the establishment at the time of the incident, it noted.

Several people are under investigation in the murder case.

A N went missing in Belgrade on May 12 and, several days later, his body was found in a barrel buried in the territory of the Indjija municipality, northwestern Serbia.