Serbian Media Name Famous Actor as Alleged Rapist

The well-known Serbian actress Danijela Stajnfeld - who last year first spoke out about rape in the country's acting profession - has named the man she says raped her, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade confirmed on Monday.

It confirmed that Stajnfeld had given a statement and that the suspect's initials were B.L.

"Danijela Steinfeld gave a statement to the police in the presence of the Deputy Public Prosecutor. In her statement, she stated the identity of the possible perpetrator of the criminal act," the Prosecutor's Office told BIRN. "Further checks are underway and evidence is being collected," it added. BIRN was not able to reach Stajnfeld for confirmation.

Media in Serbia reported earlier on Monday that the person Stajnfeld had named was the actor and politician Branislav Lecic.

While Lecic in response initially told the news portal Nova.rs that he could not comment "on such a sensitive topic" until he gets a summons from the Prosecution and "get it in black and white that she accused me of such a thing", hours later, he released a stronger statement, calling the claims a lie.

"I absolutely respect the law and legal institutions of this state and am ready to respond to such an accusation in the Prosecutor's Office at any time. This is the most heinous lie that discredits me," Lecic said in the statement.

The news portal Insajder however reported later that Stajnfeld had in fact confirmed naming Lecic as the rapist and published an audio recording of the two of them talking about rape in which Lecic did not deny what happened.

During the recording, Stajnfeld can be heard telling Lecic she felt disrespected and endangered, to which Lecic said she should not felt like that because it was his ...