Serbia’s prosecution service announced Friday the arrest of eight police officers suspected of torturing a man who died in custody two years ago after being held in a case linked to a child’s killing, G4Media reports, citing AFP / Agerpres.

A two-year-old girl disappeared in March 2024 in Bor, eastern Serbia. Police arrested two suspects, but her body was never found and the case stalled. In April 2024 the brother of one suspect was arrested on suspicion of helping hide the body and later died in custody.

Police said the 40-year-old died “after falling ill”; independent media cited forensic findings that he had been beaten to death.

The eight officers are suspected of “serious bodily harm resulting in death, as well as assault and torture,” prosecutors said. Arrest warrants had existed earlier, but the Interior Ministry’s internal affairs unit “did not act,” the statement added.

The arrests follow a student-led movement that ended 14 years of SNS rule in the 25 October election and is demanding reforms. Prosecutor-general Zagorka Dolovac said “political and institutional obstruction” of the prosecution had ended.

Source consulted: Eight Serbian police officers arrested after a detainee’s death amid torture claims — G4Media.

Image: Serbian Police Day, Belgrade (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).

Sources consulted: Eight Serbian police officers arrested after a detainee’s death amid torture claims — G4Media.