Bor Police Custody Death: Eight Officers Arrested Two Years Later

Serbia's Interior Ministry arrested eight police officers on Friday, 6 November, on suspicion of causing the death of Dalibor Dragijević, who died in the premises of the Bor Police Administration in April 2024, the day after he was detained. The arrests were carried out by the ministry's Internal Control Sector on the orders of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš.

What the officers are suspected of

According to the ministry statement reported by Vreme and 021, the eight are suspected, as co-perpetrators, of grievous bodily harm resulting in death, in conjunction with ill-treatment and torture. At the time of Dragijević's death all of them served in the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP); four have since moved to the unit that protects certain persons and facilities. Seven are from Belgrade and one from Nova Pazova. They can be held for up to 48 hours before being brought to the Niš prosecutor with a criminal complaint for questioning. The suspects have not commented publicly and are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

From a 'natural death' to a forensic finding

Dragijević was detained on 6 April 2024 during the investigation into the disappearance of two-year-old Danka Ilić near Bor, on suspicion of helping his brother hide her body. His brother is among those accused of killing the girl. Police said at the time that Dragijević had died of natural causes. According to 021, doctors at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Belgrade later recorded injuries all over his body, including to the head and several broken ribs; the weekly Radar first published those findings in December 2024.

Why prosecutors say it took so long

The Niš prosecutor's office said its prosecutor had earlier ordered the arrest of all the suspects, but that the Internal Control Sector had not acted on those orders. Sanja Radivojević of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights told N1 that the arrests should not distract from two years of inaction. She said the delay may have allowed the suspects to align their statements and evidence to be lost, and that responsibility should be examined at every step, including the medical reports on which the ministry's original account relied.

What comes next

The prosecutor's office said it would publish a statement once all suspects have been questioned. It will then decide whether to seek detention. The case is one of several recent investigations into the conduct of police officers, following the detention of nine people, including the commander of the SAJ special unit, in the government garage case earlier this week.