High Court in Novi Sad on Friday (April 11), four and a half months after it was filed, returned the indictment for investigation the fall of the canopy of the railway station in Novi Sad, for the sake of supplementing the investigation and additional clarifications, and so that the validity of the indictment could be examined.
This was announced in the premises of the court in Novi Sad with live broadcast on television.
Gajić: "Cardinal mistakes"
Lawyer Vladimir Gajić estimated that due to "cardinal errors" the decision of the High Court in Novi Sad to return the indictment for revision was expected.
"It was clear that the indictment of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad could not stand and that it would be returned to supplement the investigation," Gajić told the FoNet agency.
He added that it remains to be seen what the Court ordered to clarify how the indictment could enter into legal force and how the trial could begin in that important case.
In his opinion, there are several reasons for today's court decision, since there are cardinal omissions.
"The problem is in what was subsequently covered by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade. The investigation did not include the persons who gave their consent for the trial work permit for the Railway Station in Novi Sad. Some more mistakes can be seen from the expertise of the Technical Faculty in Novi Sad, which indicated the important reasons why the canopy fell, and then we saw that the persons to whom the conclusions of the expertise refer were not under investigation," said Gajić.
Among the omissions, he includes the fact that individuals were accused without a legal basis, and he singles out the former minister Goran Vesić.
"The canopy was not opened by his presence at the opening, but it was opened on the basis of legal documents that are possible on the basis of the law on planning and construction," said Gajić.
Why was the indictment sent back to supplement the investigation
At the session of the High Court in Novi Sad, a decision was made in the process of examination of the indictment of the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, which was brought against 13 people in the case of the fall of the canopy, to return the indictment to supplement the investigation.
It was stated that the Criminal Extra-Trial Chamber started examining the indictment in question within the prescribed period.
"The court panel first analyzed in detail the extensive indictment and the regulations referred to by the public prosecutor in the indictment, and then the evidence, without going into the evaluation of the evidence," it was said at the press conference.
"Needs better clarification"
Answers to the indictment submitted by the defendants' representatives were also analyzed.
"Starting from the criminal offense charged against the defendants and the omissions charged by the public prosecutor against the defendants, and in connection with the allegations made in the responses to the indictment, the panel made a decision that a better clarification of the matter is needed, in order to examine the merits of the indictment," the court said.
An order was ordered to complete the investigation and it was sent from the court to the competent prosecutor's office, the defendants and defense attorneys, who have no right to appeal, it was said.
The case is returned in the investigation phase to supplement the investigation, so that the merits of the indictment can be examined, it was stated.
The allegations of the media were denied, the court emphasized that it reacted as a matter of urgency.
What does the indictment include?
On December 30 last year, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad filed charges against 13 people, including former Minister of Transport Goran Vesić and former Director of the Infrastructure of the Railways of Serbia Jelena Tanasković, due to the fall of the canopy at the entrance to the Novi Sad Railway Station, in which 16 people died.
Of the 13 suspects, 10 are in custody, two suspects are under house arrest.
The former Minister of Construction, Goran Vesić, is defending himself from freedom, because after several days spent in custody, the court canceled his detention, accepting the appeal of his defense attorney.
The indictment was also brought against the JT former acting general director of the "Railway Infrastructure of Serbia", the GV of the former minister in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, AD the former acting assistant minister in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and N.Š. of the former general director of "Serbian Railway Infrastructure" due to the grounds of suspicion that they have committed the criminal offense of serious offense against general safety in connection with the criminal offense of causing general danger.
Also included in the indictment are SN the responsible designer of the construction structure, MJ the chief designer of the conceptual project, Lj.MM the chief designer of the project for the building permit, MS the reporter for the constructions of the Republic Revision Commission, JSM the person responsible for technical control, ZSM and DJ the persons responsible for the execution of construction works, MG and DT the persons responsible for expert supervision, due to the suspicion that they have committed a serious crime against general safety in connection with the criminal offense of improper and improper execution of construction works.
The authorities first argued that the canopy was not reconstructed
Although the authorities initially said that the canopy was not reconstructed, on March 4, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office (VJT) in Belgrade filed an indictment against three people for the omissions that led to the fall of the concrete structure.
The investigation into the participation of two members of the Commission for Technical Supervision of Works was suspended due to a lack of evidence, the chief prosecutor of VJT Nenad Stefanović said earlier.
The case is handled by the Novi Sad Prosecutor's Office, but on February 12, part of the investigation into the fall of the canopy was transferred to the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime.