Branko Stefanovic

Nebojsa Stefanovic. Photo: EPA/JANOS MARJAI.

The Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime told BIRN on Thursday that it has asked the Interior Ministry's Service for the Fight against Organised Crime to probe allegations that a company connected to Defence Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic's father bought weapons at preferential prices from the state arms manufacturer Krusik.

While Serbian officials continue to downplay the role of the Interior Minister's father in the arms trade, documents obtained by BIRN reveal his high-level activities in this field.

They show that Branko Stefanovic, father of Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, traveled in May to the "Bereta" arms factory in Italy as part of a Serbian Interior Ministry delegation, for example.

They answer questions no one asked, avoid answering those they were asked, answer claim with counter-claim, organise protests against the opposition and attack those who dare to think differently. The country resembles a giant circus with second-rate acrobats.

A resolution is nowhere sight.

The 'Freedom for Aleksandar' campaign and the '1of 5 million' NGO on Monday handed over a petition with over 30,000 signatures to the Serbian prosecutor's office calling for the release of Aleksandar Obradovic.

A Serbian journalist who publicly confronted President Aleksandar Vucic with allegations of government corruption has found himself the target of a storm of criticism by presidential aides, allies and pro-government media after Vucic was hospitalised with heart problems hours after their exchange.

No information about arrest for three weeks:

Illustration. Photo: Pixabay

A lawyer for Obradovic has appealed against the decision to keep him in custody and some Serbs, including activists involved in months of anti-government demonstrations, have begun protesting in front of the prison in Belgrade.

"There is absolutely no reason to impose custody. Not one," the lawyer, Ljubisav Radosavljevic, told BIRN.

Documents obtained by BIRN show that the management of the Serbian arms manufacturer Krusik hid key information about deals it agreed with GIM - a private arms intermediary connected to Branko Stefanovic, father of Serbia's Interior Minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic - and with Jugoimport SDPR, a Serbian state-owned intermediary.

The father of Serbia's Interior Minister, Branko Stefanovic, mediated in arms deals between the Serbian weapons manufacturer Krusik and a private Saudi Arabian company, a BIRN investigation can show.