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The President of the Belgrade High Court, Aleksandar Stepanović, stated that “the election of the current Minister of Justice, which represents a lonely and atypical example for European democracies, speaks for itself of what the intention of the executive branch is.”
“The question is: is the decision to appoint a special adviser to the director of the Security Information Agency to head the department, who is, among other things, in charge of the rule of law, is a way to send a message to the judiciary, in terms of its control by the executive? ” “Stepanović said for the new issue of the weekly NIN.
When asked how the president of the state, Aleksandar Vučić, could say that he will not give proof that he was intercepted because he protects his state, Stepanović said that “the law is the same for everyone.”
“So, if the president has evidence that indicates the commission of a crime, he is obliged, like any citizen, together with the criminal complaint filed against the author he knows or the unidentified author to submit to the competent prosecutor’s office, if there are grounds to suspect that he is being prosecuted ex officio, “said Stepanović.
Regarding the fact that Vučić and the lawyer and president of the Parliamentary Justice Commission, Vladimir Djukanović, commented on the testimonies of the defendants in the Jovanjic case, Stepanović said that “this shows that the representatives of other branches of the government are they left their powers “and added:” Why do you need to ask them. “
He also said that holders of public power through certain means “actually give the green light to target dissidents, instead of drawing attention to the need to protect the right of all citizens to freedom of expression.”
“An attempt is made to influence the judicial authorities through the tabloid press, where, in fact, through the statements of politicians, we can intuit that certain behavior is expected from judges and prosecutors,” Stepanović said.
