Serbia: Arrest of the head of the criminal police in the wake of the legislative elections

Is this the logical continuation of the victory in the early legislative elections of the list supported by the student movement? The head of the Serbian criminal police, Marko Kricak, 42, accused by the student movement of “brutality” during demonstrations against power, was arrested on Sunday as part of an investigation into a criminal murder, suspected of abuse of office, the prosecution said.

His rise in the police hierarchy had been explained in recent months by certain local media by his loyalty to ex-president Aleksandar Vucic, who had been in power since 2012. His resignation was demanded Thursday by La Liste Studente.

Abuse of function?

“This arrest has no link with […] the result of the legislative elections,” insisted the chief prosecutor of the Belgrade High Prosecutor’s Office, Nenad Stefanovic, in a statement to the press. As part of the operation, the police arrested Marko Kricak as well as the head of the Anti-Crime Department within the Criminal Police, Bosko Sekulovic, the prosecutor said.

They “are suspected of […] having abused their functions and failed in their professional obligations, thus causing harm and serious infringement of the rights of the former Belgrade police chief”, Veselin Milic, declared Nenad Stefanovic. According to the prosecution, these abuses were committed as part of an investigation carried out by the two men after the murder, in a Belgrade restaurant in May, of a man presented as a member of the local underworld.

Marko Kricak is also suspected of having “mistreated and assaulted” a person during this investigation. The two responsible were placed in pre-trial detention for 48 hours, pending their hearing by a prosecutor.

After spending almost two months in detention, Veselin Milic filed a complaint against Marko Kricak and Bosko Sekulovic, accusing them of having provided the prosecution with evidence against him in a “selective, incomplete and misleading” manner, according to his complaint cited in July by the media.

A unit that mistreated students

During the demonstrations [triggered by the tragedy of November 1, 2024 at Novi Sad station, which left 16 dead], he led a unit responsible for the protection of personalities and sensitive sites. In August 2025, several students claimed to have been beaten or mistreated by members of this unit.

A student, Nikolina Sindjelic, said she was arrested and taken to a government garage in Belgrade, with several other demonstrators. She had accused Marko Kricak himself of having “brutally hit” her, as well as one of his colleagues.

“He insulted us, he called me a slut, told me he was going to rape me in front of everyone,” she assured. The Interior Ministry then “firmly” denied these accusations.