Milan Jacimovic, the underage son of truck driver Milomir Jaćimović, was released after questioning at the Stari Grad Police Station in Novi Sad.
He left the station with a lawyer around 17 pm.
The minor Jaćimović was brought due to violation of public order and peace, and a misdemeanor charge will most likely be filed against him.
Since Petar Prelić, Milomir Jaćimović's legal representative, was absent, Novi Sad lawyer Tanja Arsić responded to the invitation of the informal association of lawyers who defend protest participants free of charge, and went to the police station where Milan Jaćimović was taken into custody.
She testifies that Milan Jaćimović did not even know why he was in the police.
Milan Jaćimović, the minor son of truck driver Milomir Jaćimović, was taken into custody
"You can go out, but a minor cannot"
"When I got to the Milan police station, I almost didn't even see him, because he was surrounded by policemen. It was as if he was some kind of criminal. He didn't have handcuffs, but a bunch of policemen were around him. Only when I called him did he come to me. I heard one of them say that they were getting ready to 'take him upstairs'. I told Milan not to go anywhere and to come to me and stay there," Arsić told Vreme.
She adds that the police did not respond to her suggestion, because they know that they cannot take a minor anywhere in the presence of a lawyer.
"Minors must have a legal representative next to them, as well as an official from the Center for Social Work. There are cases where minors can be detained in this way, but they are criminal offences, not misdemeanors. Milan told me that the police officers detained him as he was leaving the building, without telling him why they were detaining him. He was not served with any written documents, even though I insisted that it be done," explains lawyer Tanja Arsić and notes that the whole time insisted that Milan be officially handed the document and explain why he is at the police station.
Arsić states that in the meantime, an employee of the Center for Social Work appeared because of Milan, but she actually listened to the police officers who explained to her what it was all about, while she did not approach Milan at all, nor did she ask him anything, even though this is stated in her job description and her official duties.
"Her role is to protect the interests of minors. But that's not why she was there. She just listened to the police and what they were telling her. This is completely inadequate behavior of an employee of the Center for Social Work. Probably the employees of that institution are afraid of losing their jobs, so they cooperate with the police, not with the minors for whom they are there," says Arsić.
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Since she still insisted on being explained why the minor Milan Jaćimović was taken into custody, the commander came down after a certain time and forbade her to take Milan out of the police station, because "everything was illegal, from beginning to end."
"When we went to the door, I was told: You can go out, but a minor cannot. It was a terrible moment. They didn't care about anything I told them. Of course, I didn't go out, I stayed with Milan."
Replacement of lawyer
After ten minutes, Petar Prelić, the legal representative of Milomir Jaćimović, Milan's father, who could not attend the arrest and what immediately followed, also appeared.
Tanja Arsić states that she submitted a "report" to Prelić about what had happened with Milan until then.
Lawyer Petar Prelić tells "Vreme" that he was told when he came to the police station that Jaćimović was taken into custody because he was accused in misdemeanor proceedings for violating public order and peace.
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"Obviously they have a task and that's it"
"However, when I explained to them that it cannot be done that way and that Milan must be released from the station immediately, they did not allow it. It got to the point where the question arose: 'Do we need to use force to get out'. No one can be detained in misdemeanor proceedings unless he was caught committing that offense or with a court order," Prelić told "Vreme".
He adds that the commander was the most persistent in keeping Milan, and Prelić believes that he gave "the impression of a man who doesn't really know what he's doing."
"When he realized that he didn't know what he was doing, the story changed, so he stated that Jaćimović was brought 'just to give a notice in his capacity as a citizen'...But, even in that case, they would have to ensure the conditions prescribed by law, which is the presence of the parents, and he was neither informed, nor was Milomir present," Prelić said.
After that, he left the station with Milan, and then the boy went to his father, who is on hunger strike for the ninth day in front of the Banovina building.
"Milan Jaćimović, a minor, lost four hours in the police station, and I along with him," says Prelić and points out that he is confident that the police will file a misdemeanor charge against Milan.
"They repeated it several times in the station. When I asked them if they had found him committing a misdemeanor, they replied that they had not. I then asked them: 'How do you know that'? They said: 'You will see'. It is obvious that they have a task and that is it. The presumption of innocence is not respected, and that is evident. We will know all the other details when the misdemeanor report comes," concludes Prelić.
