Informal Group Defense of the Profession Urges Prosecution for Organized Crime To Investigate Legality of Granted Pardons

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The informal group of judges and prosecutors, known as Defense of the Profession, on Nov. 3 urged the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime to establish whether there was a criminal offence in pardons of 49 individuals, granted by former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. 

“We call on judges and public prosecutors not to take part in implementing unlawful decisions! We also call on the Constitutional Court to review the legality of these decisions,” the group said in a statement. 

They added that, although the Justice Ministry insists it was not involved in the procedure, their claim has been contested by the Higher Court in Novi Sad. 

“Although the full list of those granted pardons has not yet been disclosed, the more important question is not who was pardoned, but whether the decisions were made in accordance with the law,” the group said.

The group also said the fact that these decisions cannot be overturned, does not exclude criminal liability, adding that the legality of these decisions need to be examined before their implementation. 

So far, the names of 23 people have been made public, including Dijana Hrkalovic, Nebojsa Djokic, Marko Pavlovic, Dragan Zivadinovic, and Milos Dugalic, while the identity of the remaining 26 individuals granted pardon are still unknown.