Opposition Party: Ruling Party MP Has Admitted Priority Is Protecting Party from Prosecutor’s Office

Ugljesa Mrdic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Stefan Janjic, an MP from the opposition Serbia Center party (SRCE), said on Feb. 4 that Serbian Progressive Party MP Ugljesa Mrdic had admitted that the purpose of the judicial legislation he sponsored was to protect Progressive party officials from investigation.

In an appearance in the program of a pro-regime television station, Mrdic said the reason for his amendments to judicial legislation was that "they started to arrest ministers from the [Serbian Progressive Party], and they wanted to arrest Vucic, too," which Janjic described as "the unguarded candidness of an inept jurist with a dubious degree revealing that protecting the corrupt regime is the priority."

"The public prosecutor's office needs to call him to account over this statement and seek additional explanations, even though he can invoke immunity," Janjic said.

"Fear of being arrested is one aspect. Another is the intention to put the prosecutor's office under total control and ensure it's legally covered. This is the only way for the Vucic regime to remain in power, and they need absolute obedience in the police and prosecutor's offices to make it happen," Janjic said.