Retired prosecutor Bojana Paunović, in an interview for "Vreme", explains what legal steps the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office should take after the video of Pavlo Bihali became public, in which he stated that it was more acceptable for him "to be a carer than to end up in prison".
Video released Pavla Bihalija, the leader of the "Leviathan" organization, caused a lot of public attention. On the audio recording, which has gone viral in the last few days social networks, Bihali admitted that he does not make independent decisions, but that he acts only according to the orders he receives, stating that it is more acceptable for him "to be a carer than to end up in prison."
He confirmed to "Vreme" that his words from the mentioned recording are authentic, but he noted that they were "chopped" from a series of conversations that took place over a long period of time.
He explains his words that he would rather be in prison than in prison by saying that since 2017 and his arrest "for nothing", for which he accuses former minister Nebojša Stefanović, he has been blackmailed "by certain structures that, thank God, are no longer part of the MUP or other security services".
A few days after the recording, we can only hear from the state institutions - loud silence. And which institution should react on behalf of the state and what is done in such situations under "normal circumstances".
What was supposed to happen?
Jasmina Paunović, a retired prosecutor, explains to "Vreme" that someone from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office had to react in this case.
"The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office should react here in terms of summoning him (Bihali), by forming a case and making a request for the necessary notification to the police. Both one and the other variant are allowed under the Criminal Procedure Law. He should be summoned in his capacity as a citizen and be questioned on all the circumstances of what he himself stated," Paunović states.
He adds that Bihali should explain all the circumstances in the prosecutor's office, because he mentioned many names in that video.
"He mentioned many people from the authorities, and from the other sidelines. I conclude that he has been blackmailed in some way in the sense that he has to behave as expected of him. Otherwise, he can be ordered to some measure, or custody. In that sense, if he opened that story and had evidence for it, more concrete than what we heard, the case formed in this way would be processed further," says the "Vremena" interviewee.
Photo: FoNet / Zoran MrđaJasmina Paunović
No criminal offense so far.
According to her, that would mean to start summoning people and finding evidence related to this case.
"We cannot charge him now, when it was published in this way. There must be his official statement from where the prosecution could further initiate all necessary measures and actions, in order to determine someone's criminal responsibility. I really think that what we heard is a good basis for a future case," she says.
He agrees with the statement that both the prosecutor's office and other institutions have been silent since the moment when the audio recording reached the public, and underlines that in this case there is no specific criminal offense or specific perpetrator.
"We only have his story, which may or may not be true. And in order to establish that it is true, he has to justify it. Depending on how the case would develop, and the testimony he would give, he could be a witness under oath. However, we do not have a specific criminal offense," concludes Paunović.
Maybe you didn't see it - Paja Leviathan admits that he and Miša Vacić were blackmailed.
He says if one Luka Bojović lowers his head before the state. Haha BEAUTIFUL! pic.twitter.com/6YoRaByOoH
What else was heard from Bihali in the disputed audio recording?
In the video, Bihali, in addition to acting solely on the orders he receives, also mentions the controversial businessman Aleksandar Papić, with whom "all his money is packed". He said he was "waiting for this one" to "come out" and see what needs to be done next.
"We have some common business interests that have nothing to do with politics. Papić is not my boss. He was set up by the same structures I talked about. And Papić is one of the most loyal people to the top of SNS," said Bihali.
He claims that he was in Ćaciland once in his life, but not on the day of the big protest on March 15, which is mentioned in the video ("I'm not going to tell you what I'm doing and what I did all day on the fifteenth").
"I had groups of people around the city who controlled that there would be no unrest. We sit and watch, then we turn the police if necessary, we monitor people. You can do that too," said Bihali to the "Vremena" journalist.
Explaining that in the video he insinuates that even Luka Bojović "puts his head down, puts on a cap and goes to the protest", Bihali says that there is no need to justify that statement, because he has been friends with Bojović for 30 years.
"When I said that he had his head down, it means that he was minding his own business. It hurts his ass what anyone says," says Bihali.
He adds that he "really works like a ker" but for his own interests, not the interests of the ruling party. "Now that they match... my interest is survival, and theirs is maintaining the system. To survive, I have to adapt to the conditions on the street. Because that's what I do, Leviathan for example, I have to know the street, I can't walk as ignorant as a bamboo," he concluded.
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