Serbian NGOs Cite BIRN Probes, Demanding Investigation Into People Smugglers

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, BCBP, and Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, YUCOM, on Friday urged the Prosecution for Organized Crime, TOK, when prosecuting people smuggling gangs, to examine information published by BIRN about the links between Ministry of Interior officials and smugglers.

"The information provided by BIRN in an investigation article published on June 22, but also the scale of the escalation of violence among migrants and smugglers, just two days after the publication of the mentioned article, indicate that the Ministry of Interior bears a large part of the responsibility for endangering the safety of citizens," their press release said.

They stressed that during the mandate of Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin, crime had escalated in this area, and his frequent statements of hate speech, which is the subject of the proceedings initiated by JUKOM, cause intolerance and hatred towards all those who are different in Serbia, including national minorities and migrants.

"In the last two government mandates, Aleksandar Vulin was in the security structures, and as the Minister of Defence and as the Minister of Interior, his statements violated the integrity of the security sector and threatened the official policy of the government … regarding EU integration," the NGOs stress.

On June 22, BIRN published an investigation into a smuggling gang which dominates Sombor and northwest Serbia's border with the EU and takes down rivals with the help of police on its payroll.

The group is allegedly led by Alen Basil, a Serbian citizen of Syrian origin, who is also an Arabic translator for the police, and his first associate, named Abu Omar, known for leading the group in the field.

Just a day after BIRN's...