Bor Police: Seven More Officers Held Over Alleged Torture of Ilić Suspects
Seven Bor officers were arrested on suspicion of abusing the two men accused of killing Danka Ilić. Prosecutors say earlier arrest orders were not carried out.
Officers of the Interior Ministry's Internal Control Sector on Friday, 13 November, arrested seven officers of the Bor Police Administration on suspicion of abusing and torturing the two men accused of killing two-year-old Danka Ilić, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš said, as reported by RTS, Nova and N1. The seven, all from Bor and identified only by their initials, are suspected as co-perpetrators of grievous bodily harm in conjunction with ill-treatment and torture. They can be held for up to 48 hours before being brought to the Niš prosecutor with a criminal complaint for questioning.
What the officers are suspected of
According to the prosecution, the alleged abuse took place on the premises of the Bor Police Administration while Srđan Janković and Dejan Dragijević were in custody on suspicion of killing the child in 2024. Danka Ilić disappeared in Banjsko Polje near Bor on 26 March 2024. Days later the two men confessed, saying they had hit her with an official vehicle; months later they withdrew the confessions, saying they had been made out of fear because of torture. The prosecution has not said when exactly the alleged abuse took place. The arrested officers have not commented publicly and are presumed innocent.
Earlier orders not carried out
The most striking line in the prosecution's statement is that it had earlier issued orders for the arrest of all seven suspects, but the Internal Control Sector did not act on them. The statement did not explain why, and the Interior Ministry's reasons had not been reported by Saturday evening. The prosecutor's office said it would publish a further statement on its website after questioning.
The second arrests in the Bor cases this month
On 6 November eight officers of the Criminal Police Directorate were arrested over the death of Dalibor Dragijević, Dejan Dragijević's uncle, who was detained in the same investigation and died in the Bor police building on 7 April 2024. On 9 November the Higher Court in Niš ordered them held for up to 30 days, citing the risk of influencing witnesses, of reoffending and of public unrest. In August, Radoslav Dragijević, Dejan's father, was acquitted of helping to hide the girl's body, Nova reported.
Sources
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