THEY CLAIM THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF MURDER: Prosecutor’s Office releases details of the autopsy and investigation into Vladimir Cvijan’s death!

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade strongly objects to what it describes as insinuations and confabulations that certain lawyers continue to present to the public regarding the death of attorney Vladimir Cvijan, claiming that he was murdered in an attempt to mislead the public, despite the fact that the collected evidence indicates that his death was caused by drowning, a conclusion with which those individuals are familiar through their direct access to the case file, the Prosecutor’s Office stated.

“The Prosecutor’s Office extends its advance apology to attorney Cvijan’s family for publishing certain details from the autopsy report, which it has been compelled to do in order to refute falsehoods that certain lawyers have been spreading in public,” the statement said, adding:

“Specifically, the conclusion of the autopsy report, prepared on the basis of the autopsy findings and chemical-toxicological analysis, clearly states that death occurred as a result of drowning and that the deceased was under the influence of alcohol at the time of death.”

The Prosecutor’s Office further stated that claims by certain individuals that the deceased had a wound on his forehead “whose shape and size correspond to a blow from the barrel of a handgun” amount to arbitrary and malicious confabulations and insinuations because the autopsy report contains no such conclusion. Instead, it states: “On the right side of the forehead, 3 centimeters above the right eyebrow, there is an oval abrasion the size of a corn kernel, where the outer layer of skin is missing, exposing moist, reddish skin. Beneath the described area, extending over the outer third of the eyebrow, there is swelling the size of an olive, with patchy dark red bruising.”

“Therefore, injuries described as being the size of ‘a corn kernel’ and ‘an olive,’ as stated in the autopsy report, cannot possibly correspond to an injury caused by being struck with a handgun. Certain individuals are also maliciously exploiting a passage in the autopsy report which states, among other things, that ‘most of the teeth are present,’ while deliberately omitting the continuation of that sentence, which reads in full: ‘Most of the teeth are present, natural, and well maintained; in the upper jaw on the left side, the fifth tooth is missing, with the tooth socket leveled.’ Thus, the autopsy report clearly indicates that the deceased was missing one tooth,” the statement continued.

“The Prosecutor’s Office once again reminds the public that attorney Cvijan’s death was caused by drowning and that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the drowning. Consequently, on March 27, 2018, the acting public prosecutor drafted an official note concluding that there were no grounds for suspicion that a criminal offense prosecutable ex officio had been committed and decided to archive the case. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade once again emphasizes that, in this as in all other cases, it acted fully in accordance with the law and its legal authority, and it strongly condemns any attempt by individuals to manipulate the facts.”

The Prosecutor’s Office also stressed that, “given that these falsehoods are being spread publicly by certain lawyers, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade calls on the Belgrade Bar Association to respond to their public statements and claims, which they make without a single piece of material evidence.”

What did the “Constitution Defenders” say?

As a reminder, the Constitution Defenders Association previously stated that the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, through its statement regarding the death of attorney Vladimir Cvijan, failed to answer the key questions and instead raised additional ones.

Members of the association’s Executive Board, attorneys Čedomir Kokanović, Jovan Rajić, and Ivan Ninić, argued that it remains unclear on what basis the Prosecutor’s Office concluded that there were no indications of a criminal offense, given that it had not established whether Cvijan’s death was the result of violence, suicide, or an accident. The Constitution Defenders therefore accused the competent authorities of covering up the case.