On the outskirts of Kalemegdan, in one of the most beautiful parts of Belgrade, with a view of the Sava Pier, twenty-eight-year-old Sreten Marković from Meljak was standing in front of the "Sargon" discotheque when he was hit by five fatal shots. He was shot by Branko Lazić, a "Sargon" security guard.
"Who the hell is he," commented Lazic when he was told that he had killed a man. He did not have a license for the weapon he was shooting with, and it is not known whether he underwent training and had a contract with the club or one of the security agencies.
Apart from Marković, in the last twelve years, five more people in Serbia have died due to attacks by private security, according to the "Fear of Security" database of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS). The victims were killed with firearms, stab wounds to the heart, neck or chest, and some were beaten to death.
In "Fear of Security" there are descriptions of a total of 86 attacks by security guards of nightclubs, rafts, companies, and influential figures. Among those attacked are minors, athletes, striking workers, members of the LGBT community, but also reporters - every sixth victim is a journalist or cameraman.
Almost a fifth of those attacked came out of the conflict with serious physical injuries, and more than half received minor injuries. Information about the place and time of the attack, the circumstances of the confrontation, as well as the participants of all known conflicts in the previous twelve years, can be found at the address: www.genus.rs/Serbian/security.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE: For the murder of Sreten Marković, the perpetrator was sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison. In the judgment of the High Court in Belgrade, it is stated that they knew Marković in "Sargon" from before. One security guard was his friend.
According to the testimonies of those present, Marković was under the influence of alcohol when he started an argument with two young men. His friend from "Sargon" calmed down the situation, but not for long. Staggering, Marković approached his friend Branko Lazić and hit him, which caused the latter to jump on him and start beating him. Lazić's colleagues calmed down the situation and sent him home. However, he returned later and shot Marković.
In a large number of recorded cases, it is difficult to determine who started the incident. However, this fact in no way justifies the excessive use of force and the existence of private security over the victims.
Sociologist Čedomir Čupić says that security workers should not react to provocations.
"They just need to protect everyone, even that citizen who attacks, because at that moment he may not be ready enough to judge if, for example, he is intoxicated." They should prevent him from creating a problem, and not use physical force," explains Čupić.
Branko Lazić was convicted for the murder of Sreten Marković, but CINS research shows that the court's epilogue was missing in more than half of the attacks. Citizens often don't report the case to the police out of fear, and when they do, it takes a long time for it to be legally concluded.
Nebojša Ivanović is still waiting for a final verdict against the people who beat him in 2009 because he was protesting the construction of a garbage dump near Prokuplje.
"Four or five of them entered the house, one was holding a gun pointed at me, then they started shouting that no one could stop them," says Ivanovic. "The other one hit me on the head with a boche pump. They also stabbed me with screwdrivers."
ISSUE (NOT) PREVENTED: If restaurant owners were more careful about who they hire, they would know that their workers have had problems with the law before. Before the incidents that caused them to find themselves in the base, certain members of the security had several criminal charges, among other things, for violent behavior.
Thus, Miloš Srdić from Subotica is accused of causing serious bodily injury to two fellow citizens who tried to return to the club from which they left to get cigarettes in 2008. A criminal complaint was filed against Srdić a year earlier, also for causing serious physical injuries.
"They felt their power and were happy when they could kick me while I was lying unconscious." I suffered such injuries that it is science fiction how I survived. My nerves were torn, my teeth were broken, my ribs were bruised," said Srđan Bogić, one of the beaten young men.
Dragoslav Đuričković, head of security at the "Vox" discotheque from Crvenka, was sentenced to five years in prison for the attempted murder of Marko Begović in October 2006. Before the incident in Crvenka, Đuričković had five criminal charges, one of which was for violent behavior.
"He is holding a knife in me, we are looking into each other's eyes - face to face, I push him and he won't let go (...) he wanted to take my life... He stuck the knife one centimeter from my heart," says Begović.
Before the adoption of the Law on Private Security at the end of 2013, security checks of security employees did not have to be carried out at all, which does not reduce the responsibility of those who hired security.
With the new law, a security check has become a necessary condition for someone to be engaged in this business. However, Predrag Petrović from the Belgrade Center for Security Policy says that the checks are not well organized - they are superficial and will not be able to determine the existence of serious security obstacles.
"WILD" I "RIGHT" SECURITY: A large number of incidents found in the "Fear of security" database were caused by illegally employed persons, without contracts, training or with a problematic history. Fans and even former policemen could also be found among the attackers. All those who are not employed in a company registered for this type of activity belong to the so-called. wild security.
Problems are less often caused by better-known and larger security companies, but their members also take part in beatings. In 2009, Dušan Odor from Pancevo, employed at the Pancevo agency "Sfinga-pro", beat up Živorad Milošević, who came to the company "Vojvodina" for his earnings.
"I didn't even try to hit him, I was holding the bloody papers in my hands, I didn't even try to resist him." "I haven't looked at it since then," says Milošević.
The company "Sfinga-pro" secures ten schools in Pančevo and the surrounding area, numerous sports and cultural events, and on their website they state that they were also involved in the security of former president Boris Tadić.
A significant number of attacks recorded in the CINS database occurred precisely in public places. Thus, Amel and Esad Kurbegović from Brodarevo were beaten by several members of security in the Prijepolje Municipal Assembly building in 2012 - during a public debate on the construction of hydroelectric power plants.
LACK OF POLITICAL WILL: Fedor Frimerman was 33 years old when he was beaten to death in 2013 in front of the Belgrade raft "Sound". The police detained about twenty people, but only four security personnel were charged. The trial began in July of this year, three defendants are in custody, and the fourth is defending himself from freedom. The responsibility of the owner of the raft or the company that secured it has never been established.
Frimerman was trying to stop the conflict between his friend Milan Modrinić and the raft's security when he himself was attacked. He died from injuries from blows to the head and body. The autopsy showed that he did not defend himself and that he fell unconscious after a blood vessel burst in his head.
This case is characterized by an incredible amount of brutality, which can also be seen from the statements of the accused - Denis Pavlov states that Dušan Davidović, who was previously convicted of violence, participated in the beating of Frimerman:
"Dušan kicked and stomped on that guy who was lying on the ground... Then he ran to the big bald guy (Modrinić) who was lying a few meters away from him, kicked him a couple of times in the head and body, and then returned to the tall, thin guy who was lying on the ground and again continued to kick and stomp on him."
Filip Čolović, the brother of the late Fedor, says that the mere existence of the law is not enough to bring order to this area. According to him, in order to solve a problem in Serbia, there must be political will, which is not always the case.
The database consists of a description of each case, and a map of Serbia with marked locations of the incidents is also available. The search is by time and location, the name of the victim or attacker, as well as by the type of injury.
Recorded cases were found by CINS journalists in media archives or reported by citizens themselves, and then confirmed through court and police documentation and through conversations with the actors of the event.
"Security Fear" is not final, CINS regularly updates it, and citizens are invited to report attacks that are not currently displayed.
