The Protector of Citizens ascertained that members of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia acted recklessly and inefficiently in unravelling the attack on a young man who was beaten on the street in Novi Sad in late August, and requested disciplinary proceedings against accountable police officers.

After the media broadcast a video in September showing the beating of a young man on 24 August 2020 in Novi Sad, the Protector of Citizens initiated own-initiative investigation to control work legality and regularity of the Serbian MOI.

In the control investigation, the Protector of Citizens obtained the documentation and reports from the Internal Control Sector of the MOI of the Republic of Serbia indicating that police officers acted illegally and improperly to the detriment of citizens’ rights, i.e. that they acted late, recklessly and inefficiently in clarifying the crime and finding perpetrators of the crime dated 24 August 2020.

From the submitted documentation, it follows that on 24 August 2020 the health care institution informed the Novi Sad Police that it had admitted a person with injuries sustained during a physical attack by three unidentified persons, and that the police had informed the Novi Sad Basic Public Prosecutor's Office that same day.

However, in further activities the police failed to act timely, conscientiously and efficiently, and it took them ten days to take over the video from the buildings in front of which the young man was beaten, determined the Protector of Citizens on the basis of the submitted reports.

The Protector of Citizens was provided with documentation showcasing that the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office was informed about the event only on 2 September 2020 when the criminal report of the beaten young man's attorney was submitted, as well as that the police submitted the recording two days later and that the search for the perpetrator was announced only after 20 days after the act was committed.

Due to all identified omissions, the Protector of Citizens requested the competent institutions to conduct disciplinary proceedings against the responsible police officers and to inform him about the outcome of these proceedings, as well as to act legally and properly in future work, i.e. to take actions and measures conscientiously and efficiently without delay.