Opposition Candidate Calls for Urgent Investigation into Criminal Allegations Against Regime Officials

Marinika Tepic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

Marinika Tepic, one of the candidates of the European Serbia coalition, demanded on Oct. 15 that the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime immediately investigate the allegations made by former Serbian Progressive Party member Momcilo Marjanovic regarding certain party and public company officials organizing violence and voter fraud.

Speaking for the non-governmental Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Marjanovic described how groups were organized and paid to intimidate the public, who gave the orders and how money was exchanged, Tepic explained, adding that the former Progressive provided names, monetary amounts and accounts of specific events.

She went on to stress that, in an orderly European country, such a testimonial would warrant an urgent independent investigation and a serious probe into the political responsibility of all mentioned officials.

“No one should be above the law. If these allegations are proven true, accountability cannot stop with just those people who accepted money and executed criminal orders. It must be determined who gave the order, who organized everything, [who] financed and protected such activities. Serbia must be a country in which public institutions protect the public – not anyone’s power,” Tepic concluded.