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Sandulovic claims that on January 3 a black van pulled up to his home and took him to the headquarters of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), where he says he was beaten by about 15 government agents.
When Serbian opposition politician Nikola Sandulovic posted a video apologizing for his country's war crimes in Kosovo, secret police arrested and beat him, according to his lawyers and family.
Sandulovic claims that on January 3 a black van pulled up to his home and took him to the headquarters of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), where he says he was beaten by about 15 government agents. He returned the next day in critical condition and was briefly hospitalized before being transferred to prison and cut off from the outside world.
Sandulovic's legal team in Belgrade and London filed a complaint with the UN committee against torture earlier this week, alleging that their client was denied due process or proper medical care and that his life could be at risk. life in danger.
The BIA confirmed that Sandulovic is in custody on charges of inciting ethnic hatred, but denied that any violence had been inflicted on him.
His plight has cast a shadow over the rule of nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic, whose recent re-election has sparked widespread protests against alleged election fraud and a slide toward autocracy. Brussels and London have asked his government for more information about the incident.
Sandulovic, a former security agent, called for his country to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign nation. Kosovo seceded after a war in 1999, but Belgrade has never recognized its independence.
On January 2, Sandulovic posted a video on the 'X' platform laying flowers at the grave of the family of one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which led the resistance war against Serbian rule and which Belgrade has labeled a terrorist organization.
In his social media post, Sandulovic said he was "the only politician from Serbia who came to honor the innocent Albanian victims. . . I apologized and apologized on behalf of the Serbs who did not do this".
Alexander Vulin, who recently resigned as head of the BIA after being sanctioned by the US for ties to the Russian government, as well as arms and drug smuggling, has claimed responsibility for ordering the politician's arrest.
On Wednesday, the service acknowledged that it had interrogated Sandulovic, but said he had not been subjected to any unlawful use of physical force or violation of freedom and rights. The BIA only wanted to clarify the context of Sandulovic's illegal actions, which the competent prosecutor has described as a criminal offense. . . inciting national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance.
The service said reports of its agents beating him were false and aimed at destabilizing the security situation in the country.
In office since 2017, Vucic has been accused of becoming more authoritarian and of doing little to quell tensions with Kosovo, which flared in September when a group of Serb militants engaged in an armed clash at a monastery, leading to four deaths. Vucic condemned the attack but also gave shelter to the leader of the armed group.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti last week said the attack was similar to Putin's on those who refuse to participate in genocide denial, referring to the Russian president's crackdown on dissent.
In a parliamentary hearing earlier this week, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron described Sandulovic's allegations as "extremely disturbing" and said he had asked the Serbian side for more information.
The European Commission has also asked Belgrade to explain what happened.
"We expect the rights of all citizens to be respected. Any detention must be based on reasonable suspicion. . . and any credible allegations of violence must be effectively pursued," said the commission's spokeswoman, Ana Pisonero. / Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Financial Times"
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