Serbian Police Claim Journalist Faked Own Kidnapping

Serbian police said on Tuesday that they have filed a criminal complaint against Cvetkovic, who went missing for two days last week, alleging that he committed a felony by falsely reporting that he had been kidnapped.

"The prosecution should check the allegations in the complaint... and the court will decide whether he is guilty or innocent," prosecutor Tihomir Knezevic told the regional TV station N1.

But Cvetkovic on Tuesday maintained that he was kidnapped and asked for an international investigation into the case, although he had difficulty explaining the inconsistencies in his account of the events.

"Primarily out of concern for the safety of journalists, I will ask for an international investigation," Cvetkovic told a press conference in Belgrade.

He said that he will take the hat allegedly used by the kidnappers to cover his eyes, which he previously refused to hand over to Serbian police, to an unnamed foreign embassy.

Cvetkovic vanished last Wednesday night in his hometown of Bela Crkva, and his car was found with open doors and its lights turned on, and a torn-off wristwatch lying nearby.

The ensuing search for the missing journalist involved several dozen members of the special Gendarmerie police unit along with divers, search dogs, and two helicopters.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday that Cvetkovic had been found unharmed, and that the investigation into his disappearance had found that many of the hints that suggested he had been kidnapped appeared to have been staged.

Cvetkovic described what he said happened to him in an interview with BIRN and at the press conference on Tuesday, but his account was vague and conflicted with the statement he made to police.

Cvetkovic said that...