Security Policy Center: Police Disciplined According to Political Will, Not Professional Standards

Police (BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC/DS)

In an April 22 press release responding to the suspension of a police officer in Novi Sad after an intervention during an intersection roadblock, the Belgrade Center for Security Policy's Integrity Network said this was a dangerous, established pattern of disciplining the police according to political will, rather than professional standards and the law.

"By punishing the legal and professional actions of its members, the state institution responsible for enforcing the law sends a clear message to other police officers that politically supported illegal conduct is not only permitted, but desirable," the press release read.

During a peaceful citizen rally on April 17, the statement recounted, there was a verbal altercation, to which police officers responded by removing the person disrupting public order. "This is a standard police response geared toward preventing escalation of conflict and protecting the security of citizens. Recordings clearly show that the officers did not use excessive force. Yet one of the officers has been suspended, while the other is facing disciplinary proceedings," the statement noted.

The statement underlined that the measures against the officers were preceded by a campaign against them in pro-regime media outlets, with state and party officials -- and the Center for Social Stability, para-state political organization -- joining in, raising the question of whether the disciplinary measures were based on the law and facts. The Belgrade Center for Security Policy stressed that this practice could have serious consequences in discouraging police officers from acting in accordance with the law and the rules of the profession if they believe that such actions may be considered politically undesirable.