Serbia: Organized crime; corruption in the police force and other government agencies; government response; state protection available to victims and witnesses of crime (2012 - May 2014)

1. Organized Crime

According to the European Commission's 2013 Progress Report on Serbia, organized crime in Serbia is a "serious concern" (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 51). Sources indicate that organized crime in Serbia grew in the 1990s during the collapse of Yugoslavia (Reuters 14 Nov. 2013; ibid. 24 Mar. 2014; EurActiv 15 Feb. 2013). Several sources state there is a "nexus" between organized criminal networks and Serbian state authorities that has persisted since the 1990s (ibid.; Reuters 14 Nov. 2013; Mladenovic 26 Nov. 2012). According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), several organized criminal groups "retain[ed] their hold on political parties, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary," even after the downfall of former president Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 (OSCE 25 July 2011). Sources report that an elite police unit working in collaboration with organized crime was responsible for the 2003 assassination of former prime minister Zoran Djindjic (EurActiv 15 Feb. 2013; RFE/RL 11 Mar. 2013; Mladenovic 26 Nov. 2012).

According to the Belgrade-based NGO Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS), Serbia's police, in cooperation with regional and international security forces, have "tighten[ed] their grip on leading mafia clans," but new generations of mafia, who are closely connected to their predecessors, have emerged (HCHRS 2013, 77). Similarly, the Director of Serbia's Military Intelligence Agency said, in an interview with the Serbian newspaper Politika in 2012, that although a number of the most important criminal networks have been broken up, organized crime "still remains a threat" (Politika 6 May 2012).

The US Department of State's 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) indicates that organized crime groups in Serbia are involved in drug trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe (US 2014). The same source notes that Serbia is a transit country for heroin and cannabis trafficked through the Balkan corridor to Western Europe (US 2014). Media sources also report that the Balkan countries are a main drug trafficking route towards Western Europe (AP 18 Mar. 2014; Reuters 24 Mar. 2014).

The US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 indicates that "Serbia is a source, transit and destination country" for human trafficking, including sex trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and forced begging (US June 2013, 322). The report notes that Serbian criminal groups are involved in the sex trafficking of women to Italy, Germany, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Sweden (ibid.).

2. Corruption

Sources indicate that corruption is a "serious concern" in Serbia (Freedom House 2013b; US 2014). According to Serbia's National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2013-2018, corruption is present in "all areas of social life" (Serbia [2013], Sec. 3.5). Reuters similarly notes that Serbs face "pervasive, low-level graft on a daily basis" (Reuters 14 Nov. 2013). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 describes corruption as a "widespread, systemic phenomenon" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 17). Freedom House states that graft and misconduct are "widespread," particularly in public procurement and privatization (Freedom House 2013b).

In a December 2013 survey conducted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Serbian NGO Centar za slobodne izbore i demokratiju (CeSID), of a sample of 600 citizens in Serbia, corruption was viewed as the third largest problem facing Serbia, after unemployment and poverty (UN and CeSID Dec. 2013, 10). The survey was the eighth research cycle carried out on the subject by the UN and CeSID since the beginning of the project in October 2009 (ibid., 5). In five surveys by UNDP and CeSID ranging from November 2011 to December 2013, more than 50 percent of those surveyed said that the following institutions were corrupt: political parties, health care, police, customs and city administration (ibid., 22). According to Country Reports 2013, there is a societal perception that the government does not apply anti-corruption laws systematically and that there is impunity for some corrupt officials (US 27 Feb. 2014, 17).

On a scale in which 1 is the least corrupt and 177 is the most corrupt, Transparency International ranks Serbia 72 of 177 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index (TI 2013).

2.1 Police Corruption

According to Country Reports 2013, police corruption and impunity are a "problem" in Serbia (US 27 Feb. 2014, 5). However, the same source notes that, according to NGO representatives, the quality of police internal investigations has improved (ibid.).

The results of the December 2013 UNDP and CeSID survey indicate that 74 percent of those surveyed view the police as a corrupt institution (UN and CeSID Dec. 2013, 22). In three UNDP and CeSID surveys conducted between December 2012 and December 2013, of those interviewed who had given a bribe in the three months prior to the surveys, between 15 and 19 percent had bribed a policeman (ibid., 13). After medical personnel, policemen were the second highest profession who received bribes (ibid.).

According to EurActiv, a network that provides localised EU policy news in 12 languages including Serbian (EurActiv n.d.), the Ministry of Interior and Serbian Security Services are "notoriously factional and used as political levers by rival parties" (EurActiv 15 Feb. 2013). This information could not be corroborated among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. State Response

3.1 State Response to Organized Crime

In a collection of papers on police reforms in Serbia published by three Serbian NGOs (the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Development Policy and Co-operation), the Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime is described as a specialized body of the Serbian state prosecution responsible for handling organized crime cases (BCSP et al. Feb. 2014, 41). The same source notes that there is also a unit within the Ministry of Interior for combatting organized crime; it carries out police duties related to organized crime at the request and under the management of the Prosecutor for Organised Crime (ibid., 44). According to Trafficking in Persons Report 2013, there is a specialized anti-trafficking unit within the organized crime police (US June 2013, 323).

The European Commission described Serbia as "moderately advanced" concerning police cooperation and fighting organized crime and notes that there have been "some results" in high-profile organized crime investigations (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 51). It listed several areas in which Serbia needs to increase its capacity in fighting organized crime, such as establishing a centralised criminal intelligence system, improving IT integration between the police, prosecution and courts, making better use of risk assessment and crime mapping, and developing intelligence-led policing (ibid., 51).

According to the US 2014 INCSR, the Serbian police have worked closely with international counterparts to break up drug smuggling operations and improve law enforcement capacity (US 2014).

According to the 27 April 2014 keynote address of Serbia's Prime Minister, between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2013, 27 criminal cases were established against 236 people for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime, of which there were indictments against 117 people (Serbia 27 Apr. 2014). There were another 63 indictments during the same time period for cases that had already been under investigation, making a total of 180 people indicted in 18 criminal cases (ibid.).

Regarding efforts to address trafficking, the Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 states:

The Government of Serbia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government investigated more cases of labor trafficking, increased prosecutions of trafficking crimes, and continued to convict trafficking offenders. (US June 2013, 322)

The same source says that the government reported having prosecuted 36 trafficking cases in 2011 and 45 in 2012, resulting in 47 people being convicted each year (ibid.). Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 also provided an example from February 2013, in which four members of an organized criminal group involved in trafficking were sentenced to a punishment of 10 to 15 years in prison and a fine of approximately $73,400 (ibid., 323).

Regional media sources report of a country-wide drug-busting operation in December 2013, in which over 900 locations were searched, more than 100 people were arrested, and drugs, weapons and ammunition were seized (Tanjug 11 Dec. 2013; HINA 6 Dec. 2013).

In March 2014, the alleged "drug lord" Darko Saric was arrested and taken into custody (Serbia 18 Mar. 2014; AP 18 Mar. 2014; RFE/RL 18 Mar. 2014). He was charged with trafficking 5.7 tons of cocaine and laundering 22 million euros in Serbia (30 million dollars) (Reuters 24 Mar. 2014; AFP 18 Mar. 2014; AP 18 Mar. 2014). Saric had been on the run from Serbian authorities for more than four years (Serbia 18 Mar. 2014; Reuters 24 Mar. 2014; AP 18 Mar. 2014). He surrendered to the Serbian authorities after being located in an unidentified Latin American country with the aid of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other national security agencies (ibid.). Freedom House notes that at least 12 associates of Darko Saric had been indicted for crimes (Freedom House 2013a, 510). According to the Serbian government, 18 of Saric's associates remained at large as of 18 March 2014 (Serbia 18 Mar. 2014). Sources indicate that Saric's network of people involved in money laundering may include high-ranking politicians in the government (AFP 6 Feb. 2013; RFE/RL 18 Mar. 2013). According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Saric allegedly laundered his profits by investing in privatization deals in Serbia and is "said to have built a vast political patronage network at the highest levels of Serbian politics" (RFE/RL 18 Mar. 2014).

3.2 State Response to Corruption

The Serbian government has declared a strong commitment to fighting corruption (Freedom House 2013a, 509; US 27 Feb. 2014, 17; HCHRS 2013, 79). Serbia has a strategy and action plan for fighting corruption for the period from 2013 to 2018 (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 41; Serbia [2013], Sec. I). The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration is the main agency responsible for the implementation of the strategy (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 41; Serbia 15 Oct. 2013).

Addressing corruption within the police is one of the priorities of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2013-2018, including strengthening internal control measures within the police as well as the capacity of the police to investigate corruption cases (Serbia [2013], Sec. 3.5).

Serbia has an Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 41; US 27 Feb. 2014, 18; Freedom House 2013a, 510), which was established in 2010 (ibid.). Its responsibilities include monitoring the implementation of the strategy and action plan for fighting corruption (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 41; US 27 Feb. 2014, 18; Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative n.d.). According to the European Commission, the ACA has conducted public awareness raising campaigns and has provided training and education to 3,679 participants in 2012 and to 1,883 participants in 2011 (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 41). According to Country Reports 2013, the ACA initiated administrative and criminal proceedings against several former and current state officials (US 27 Feb. 2014, 18). Freedom House said that the accomplishments of the ACA have been "limited" in practice (Freedom House 2013a, 510). The Protector of Citizens (Ombudsman) stated in their 2012 annual report that they received some citizen complaints against the ACA for failing to address reported concerns in a timely manner (Serbia 2013, 188-189).

Serbia has an Anti-Corruption Council that acts in an advisory role to the government (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 42; Freedom House 2013a, 510; Serbia n.d.). It was established in 2001 (ibid.; Serbia n.d.). According to the European Commission, it is "active in exposing and analysing cases of systemic corruption" (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 42). The website of the Anti-Corruption Council states that there are six members of the Council and that their mission is to "see all the aspects of anti-corruption activities, to propose measures to be taken in order to fight corruption effectively, to monitor their implementation, and to make proposals for bringing regulations, programs and other acts and measures in this area" (Serbia n.d.). According to Freedom House, few of the criminal complaints filed by the Council have been prosecuted (Freedom House 2013a, 510).

Country Reports 2013 indicates that the Ministry of Interior operates a hotline for citizens to report police corruption (US 27 Feb. 2014, 5). Details about the police corruption hotline could not be found by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the European Commission, Serbia's special prosecutor for corruption and organized crime launched 140 new investigations into high-level corruption cases in 2012, up from 115 in 2011 (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 42). However, the European Commission also expressed concern at the "relatively low" number of convictions in both corruption and organized crime cases (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 42, 51). Similarly, Freedom House said that the government "has yet to establish a track record of investigating and prosecuting corruption, especially in high-profile cases" (Freedom House 2013b). According to YUCOM, The Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, a Belgrade-based NGO that monitors trials of corruption cases, corruption-related crimes have one of the lowest conviction rates in Serbia, in part because suspects are "often highly influential individuals and powerful society members, thus making it difficult for the system to convict them" (YUCOM n.d.).

Sources reported on corruption cases against high-ranking individuals in 2012, 2013 and 2014, including the arrests of:

Miroslav Miskovic, the owner of Delta Holding Company, who is believed to be the richest man in Serbia (HCHRS 2013, 79; AP 14 Dec. 2012; Balkan Insight 12 Dec. 2012) and whose company is the largest private employer in Serbia (ibid.; AP 14 Dec. 2012);

The former Minister of Agriculture (HCHRS 2013, 79; Freedom House 2013a, 509);

The former Minister of Economy (Tanjug 5 Dec. 2013);

The head of the Labour Inspection unit of the Ministry of Labour, who was formerly head of the department for counter intelligence protection of the Anti-Organized Crime Agency of the Ministry of Interior, and was placed in custody on suspicion of bribery (Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative 21 Mar. 2014).

HCHRS notes that many of the investigations and arrests for corruption in 2012 were of suspects who had previously been protected as politicians or tycoons with strong political connections (HCHRS 2013, 79). However, according to AP, critics of the crackdown say that it mainly targets political opponents of the current government (AP 14 Dec. 2012).

4. Witness Protection

Sources indicate that Serbia has a Witness Protection Unit (WPU) (Balkan Insight 6 July 2012; IWPR 22 Nov. 2012; EU 16 Oct. 2013, 51). According to Balkan Insight, the WPU was established in 2006 and is under the jurisdiction of the War Crimes Chamber of the Ministry of Interior (Balkan Insight 6 July 2012). According to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), the WPU has the power to give witnesses a new identity and to relocate them within Serbia (IWPR 22 Nov. 2012).

Several former participants in the witness protection program have claimed that they were subjected to intimidation and threats by members of the WPU while under their care (IWPR 22 Nov. 2012; Balkan Insight 6 July 2012). Balkan Insight reports that, according to the head of the Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC), some of the police officers working in the WPU are former criminals and that there are "serious indications that some of them committed war crimes" (ibid.). HLC is a Belgrade-based NGO (HLC n.d.a) that was created in 1992 to document the human rights violations committed in former Yugoslavia (ibid. n.d.b). IWPR similarly notes that there have been cases in which witnesses that came forward to speak of wartime abuses committed by the police have been placed in the protection of members of the same force that they were speaking against (IWPR 22 Nov. 2012). A deputy prosecutor at the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor in Belgrade told IWPR that his office has received "very serious complaints" about the work of the WPU and, as a result, he no longer places his witnesses with the unit (ibid.). According to Balkan Insight, the WPU's treatment of witnesses has been criticized by the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament (Balkan Insight 6 July 2012). The head of the OSCE's unit for war crimes and organized crimes in Belgrade told Balkan Insight that there are no problems with witness protection while in court, but that when witnesses are no longer involved in the legal process, they lack protection (ibid.).

According to the European Commission, the WPU lacks sufficient staff and resources (EU 16 Oct. 2013, 51).

Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 states that trafficking victims are not provided adequate protection against intimidation and victimization during criminal proceedings (US June 2013, 322). According to the Deputy Minister of Justice, the fear of witnesses to testify in court in cases of serious crimes is "one of the biggest problems in court cases" (Serbia 6 May 2011).

Balkan Insight reports on two mafia-style killings that occurred in Belgrade in 2012, in which people connected to witnesses testifying before Serbia's Special Court for Organized Crime and War Crimes were killed (Balkan Insight 6 July 2012). The first victim, a Montenegrin businessman, was a friend of a suspect who was on trial for murder (ibid.). The second victim was a relative of a former member of Saric's alleged criminal network who made a deal with the prosecution to be a key witness in the case against Darko Saric (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 18 March 2014. "Balkan 'Cocaine King' Nabbed in International Sting." (Factiva)

_____. 6 February 2013. "Serbia Probes Officials' Alleged Ties to Organised Criminals." (Factiva)

Associated Press (AP). 18 March 2014. Dusan Stojanovic. "Balkan Suspected Drug Lord Arrested." (Factiva)

_____. 14 December 2012. Dusan Stojanovic. "Judge Hands 30-Day Pre-Trial Detention to Serbian Tycoon Billionaire Suspected of Corruption." (Factiva)

Balkan Insight. 12 December 2012. Bojana Barlovac. "Serbian Police Arrest Miroslav Miskovic." [Accessed 5 May 2014]

_____. 6 July 2012. Marija Ristic. "Killings Highlight Flaws in Serbia's Witness Protection." [Accessed 5 May 2014]

Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Development Policy and Co-operation. February 2014. "National Capacity, International and Regional Cooperation in Combating Organised Crime," by Jan Litavski. Collection of Policy Papers on Police Reform in Serbia. No. 9. [Accessed 8 May 2014]

EurActiv. 15 February 2013. "Serbia Says it Thwarted Mafia Plot to Bring Down Government Jet." (Factiva)

_____. N.d. "EurActiv Media Network." [Accessed 12 May 2014]

European Union (EU). 16 October 2013. European Commission. Serbia 2013 Progress Report. [Accessed 24 Apr. 2014]

Freedom House. 2013a. Dragana Peco. "Serbia." Nations in Transit 2013. [Accessed 8 May 2014]

_____. 2013b. "Serbia." Freedom in the World 2013. [Accessed 8 May 2014]

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS). 2013. Human Rights in Serbia in 2012. Populism: Entropy of Democracy. [Accessed 5 May 2014]

HINA, Croatian News Agency. 6 December 2013. "Serbian Police Arrest 250 People in Nationwide Crackdown on Drug Dealers." (Factiva)

Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC). N.d.a. "Contact Us." [Accessed 16 May 2014]

_____. N.d.b. "About Us." [Accessed 16 May 2014]

Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). 22 November 2012. Rachel Irwin and Velma Šaric. "Poor Protection for Balkan Trial Witnesses." [Accessed 24 Apr. 2014]

Mladenovic, Nemanja. 26 November 2012. "The Failed Divorce of Serbia's Government and Organised Crime." Journal of International Affairs. Vol. 66, No. 1. [Accessed 8 May 2014]

Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). 25 July 2011. Ulla Saar. "OSCE Fights Against Organized Crime in Serbia." [Accessed 5 May 2014]

Politika. 6 May 2012. "Serbian Army Intelligence Head Interviewed on Security, Organized Crime." (BBC Monitoring European/Factiva)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 18 March 2014. "Suspected Balkan Drug Lord Arrested." [Accessed 13 Mar. 2014]

_____. 11 March 2013. "Serbia Marks 10 Years Since Assassination of Zoran Djindjic." [Accessed 13 May 2014]

Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative. 21 March 2014. "Head of Labour Inspection Suspected of Bribery Placed in Custody." [Accessed 6 May 2014]

_____. N.d. "Anti-Corruption Bodies." [Accessed 6 May 2014]

Reuters. 24 March 2014. "Alleged Balkan Drugs Boss Denies Cocaine Charges in Belgrade Court." (Factiva)

_____. 14 November 2013. "Update 1-Balkan Tycoon, Once Seen as Untouchable, Stands Trial in Serbia." (Factiva)

Serbia. 27 April 2014. Government of the Republic of Serbia. "Keynote Address of the Prime Minister on the Occasion of Election of New Government Members." [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. 18 March 2014. Government of the Republic of Serbia. "Darko Saric Apprehended." [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. 15 October 2013. Ministry of Justice. "Coordination is the Key Word for the Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy." [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. 2013. Protector of Citizens. 2012 Annual Report. [Accessed 16 May 2014]

_____. [2013]. Ministry of Justice. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy in the Republic of Serbia for the Period 2013-2018. [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. 6 May 2011. Government of the Republic of Serbia. "Guaranteed Witness Safety Precondition for Efficient Trial." [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. N.d. Anti-Corruption Council. "About the Council." [Accessed 8 May 2014]

Tanjug. 11 December 2013. "180 Criminal Charges, 21 Kilos of Drugs Seized." [Accessed 6 May 2014]

_____. 5 December 2013. "Former Minister Indicted in Corruption Case." [Accessed 6 May 2014]

Transparency International (TI). 2013. "Corruption Perceptions Index 2013." [Accessed 24 Apr. 2014]

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Centar za slobodne izbore i demokratiju (CeSID). December 2013. Attitudes of Serbian Citizens Towards Corruption. Eighth Research Cycle. [Accessed 7 May 2014]

United States (US). 27 February 2014. Department of State. "Serbia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. 2014. Department of State. "Serbia." 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). [Accessed 7 May 2014]

_____. June 2013. Department of State. "Serbia." Trafficking in Persons Report 2013. [Accessed 14 May 2014]

YUCOM, Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights. N.d. "Supporting Adequate Response of the Serbian Judiciary Through Corruption Trial Monitoring." [Accessed 12 May 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Council of Europe - Group of States Against Corruption; ecoi.net; Factiva; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; Partners for Democracy Serbia; Serbia - Ministry of Interior, Protector of Citizens; United Nations - Refworld; Transparency Serbia.