REGIME PROSECUTORS APPEAL TO EUROPE: Stefanović and His Team Write to the EU and OSCE Mission, Claiming They Have Been “Exposed to an Atmosphere of Persecution and Public Lynchings for Days”!

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office (HPPO), headed by Nenad Stefanović, is asking the High Prosecutorial Council (HPC), the EU Delegation and the OSCE for protection against “political pressure following the elections.” The appeal comes at a time when an HPC commission is reviewing the work of the HPPO.

The statement says that, in media appearances and “controversial articles,” the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has been portrayed as an institution that allegedly unlawfully persecuted critics of the former government, accompanied by calls for the resignation or dismissal of its senior officials and claims that the Supreme Public Prosecutor decided to have an inspection conducted specifically at that prosecutor’s office.

According to the HPPO, this was accompanied by “malicious and sweeping comments” from individuals, including a member of the Commission for the Oversight of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as informal groups and organizations that have “repeatedly expressed open hostility” toward the HPPO. Among them, it allegedly says, is a candidate for the new parliamentary assembly.

The HPPO describes such statements, made immediately after the elections, as an obvious example of political pressure and an attack on the independence of the prosecution service, with the aim of forcing the chief public prosecutor to resign.

Nenad Stefanović, the chief prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, has repeatedly attracted public attention over indications that he is abusing the prosecution service for political purposes. One of the most prominent such cases occurred in August 2025, when large numbers of citizens were detained during street blockades over alleged attacks on police officers.

At the time, pre-trial judges of the Higher Court in Belgrade issued a legal position stating that cases involving attacks on police during protests fell under the jurisdiction of basic public prosecutor’s offices, not the HPPO. Stefanović responded through a statement published on the HPPO website, expressing his personal view that their legal position on the classification of certain actions was unfounded, incorrect and unlawful, and that he would “challenge” it. The judges later issued another statement, reminding him that he does not oversee the work of the courts.

The question of whether the HPC, as the guarantor of prosecutorial independence, will take a position in the conflict between the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, and how it will weigh the request for protection against pressure against the reviews of the legality of the HPPO’s work being conducted by the commission, is important to the public.

The reviews cover cases that have been in the public spotlight for years, meaning that the choice between protecting independence and overseeing legality also has implications for public trust in the judiciary.

The HPPO is defending itself against allegations of political pressure, while claims that the prosecution service has been abused for political purposes are based on indications that have not, to date, been confirmed by any competent body.

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