BELGRADE – SNS member of National Assembly, Uglješa Mrdić, who proposed of the package of judicial laws recently adopted by parliament, admitted that he had proposed them because certain prosecutors were planning to arrest several ministers from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and, as he claimed, even Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Mrdić appeared yesterday as a guest on the morning program of K1 television, where he spoke about the state of the judiciary and the effects of the newly adopted laws.
When asked by the host whether the new package of judicial laws had been introduced because the SNS was dissatisfied with its own кадровска solutions, such as Republican Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac, Mrdić said that the party had changed all its personnel decisions whenever officials had failed to perform well. He then effectively confirmed that the new set of laws was adopted in order to prevent the arrest of SNS ministers.
“Because they started arresting SNS ministers. Because in the end they wanted to arrest President Vučić, let’s be open about it. Because they would have started arresting people. They wanted to carry out a color revolution to the end, to overthrow the state,” Mrdić said.
Stefan Janjić, an MP of the opposition party Serbia Centre (SRCE), assessed that an MP of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Uglješa Mrdić admitted that the purpose of the judicial laws he proposed was to protect the officials of his party from any investigation.
According to Janjić, “this is only one step in a series of steps in a crawling coup d’état”.
“Due to this statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office must call Mrdić to account and ask for additional explanations, regardless of the possibility of invoking immunity. It is clear to everyone that the indictment against Nikola Selaković (a Minister of Culture) was a red light, and that they (SNS) were afraid of possible future steps”, he stated.
Janjić added that “Mrdić made it clear that the SNS is above the law for them and that no one should accuse their ministers and officials, even if there is evidence that they violated the law”.
In addition, he remarked that the statement of The Chief Public Prosecutor for Organized Crime (TOK) Mladen Nenadić that the police “refused to enforce orders issued by TOK, caused additional public concern”.
“The attempt (by SNS) to destroy TOK was also aimed at preparing for the vote theft in the next elections… The fear of arrest is one dimension, and the other is the intention to put the prosecutor’s office under full control and provide legal coverage, i.e. no appeals should be granted after the next election. This is the only way for the Vučić’s regime to remain in power. Therefore, they need absolute obedience in the police and prosecutors’ offices”, Janjić concluded.
On 28 January, the National Assembly of Serbia adopted the amendments to the key judicial laws, proposed by Uglješa Mrdić. The critics claim that these changes, adopted swiftly and without public consultations, will curtail the independence of courts and prosecutors.
The legal changes, among other issues, weaken the competencies of the High Prosecutorial Council, a body that elects public prosecutors and is responsible for maintaining their independence. The ruling party has recently criticized the work of the HPC, which is currently split into two factions, one of which is perceived to be closer to SNS.
The European Commission stated that the legal changes “could represent a significant step backwards in Serbia’s path towards EU accession”.
