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Serbian president escalates domestic political tension by warning of criminal charges against critics of Jared Kushner's failed project...
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced a new campaign of political confrontation, warning of criminal charges against those he says influenced the withdrawal of American investor Jared Kushner from a planned luxury building in central Belgrade.
This move comes in reaction to the cancellation of the controversial development project of the former General Staff complex, a symbol of NATO bombing that still carries deep symbolic and historical weight in the Serbian collective memory.
Vučić claims that investigations, protests and public pressure against the project have been used by his opponents to drive away investors and sabotage the country's economic development. He has signaled that he will file criminal charges against justice officials, police officers, as well as protesters and activists, although he did not specify specific names.
Public and legal reactions
Many voices from the legal and public spheres in Serbia have described Vučić's statement as a dangerous escalation of political tensions and an attempt to intimidate critics. Jasmina Paunović, a retired prosecutor, stressed that criminal charges cannot have legal value without evidence, names and clear criminal elements.
Protests against the project had a civic, historical, and symbolic character, and were also supported by architects, historians, and public figures who considered the project an erasure of the collective past.
From Trump City to diplomatic boycott
Jared Kushner's project, the son-in-law of former President Trump, envisaged the construction of a luxury hotel and commercial complex with the Trump firm, but faced strong resistance. After revelations that the contract was awarded with unclear procedures and on the eve of the election, he withdrew amid accusations of corruption and lack of transparency.
Kushner's withdrawal is considered by many analysts as a blow to Vučić's image in the international arena and a signal that strategic investors are avoiding Serbia if their projects become politicized or entangled with authoritarian interests.
Political and regional implications
Vučić's statement is not just an emotional outburst, but part of a strategy to tighten control over institutions, especially the prosecution and the media. This behavior adds to concerns about the suppression of critical voices and increases the risk of the collapse of a functioning democracy in Serbia.
For Kosovo and Albania, this development is a signal that Belgrade is entering new cycles of internal crisis, weakening its position in the dialogue with Pristina and in relation to the European Union.
The threat of massive lawsuits in Serbia in the name of "national interest" is not just an expression of frustration after the failure of a project, but an alarm sign of an authoritarian tendency that could undermine the democratic foundations of the Serbian state./ Pamphlet
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