Serbia: Police chief arrested after election for abuse of office
Marko Kricak, an Aleksandar Vucic loyalist, is accused of suppressing and manipulating an investigation into a gangland murder. Prosecutors say the arrest is not linked to Vucic's recent election defeat.
Serbian police chief Marko Kricak has been arrested and charged with abuse of office, according to state media. The 42-year-old is accused of suppressing and manipulating an investigation into the murder of a suspected criminal underworld figure in a Belgrade restaurant in May. Kricak, who supported defeated Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, has also been accused by student groups of "brutality" in police responses to anti-Vucic demonstrations.
The removal of Vucic loyalists from Serbia's police and intelligence apparatus was one of the demands made by student leaders. However, Belgrade's chief prosecutor, Nenad Stefanovic, denied any connection between the student movement's demands and Kricak's arrest, stating that the arrest has no link to the recent parliamentary elections.
Kricak had a background in the domestic intelligence agency BIA before joining Serbia's Serbian Progressive Party and being appointed to various senior police roles in the years following.
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