Criminal complaint against President Vučić and others over leaked information from the investigation against CRTA

On March 13, CRTA filed a criminal complaint for unauthorized handling of information and documentation seized from CRTA during a raid conducted by members of the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP) and for forwarding this information to the President of the Republic. The complaint states that the following criminal offenses were committed: Abuse of Office (Article 359, Paragraph 1), Unauthorized Collection of Personal Data (Article 146, Paragraph 3), and Causing Panic and Disorder (Article 343 of the Criminal Code).

On Sunday, March 9, President Vučić, in a media address broadcast live on TV Informer, stated, among other things:

“Those who directly received money from abroad to carry out a color revolution—there will be surprises in the coming days, you’ll see… Do you know that the organization USAID paid €190,000, through CRTA and some other NGOs, to an organization called ‘Da smradovi odu’? €190,000. Imagine that wonderful humanitarian and humane aspect of USAID and CRTA, where the organization ‘Da smradovi odu’ receives €190,000, not dinars.”

Highlighting the fact that the misused information from CRTA’s official documentation could have come exclusively from either the competent prosecutor’s office or the Criminal Police Directorate, CRTA included evidence in its complaint in the form of a statement given by the President of Serbia on TV “Informer” on March 11, 2025 (which was also broadcast on TV PINK). In this statement, the President effectively admitted to possessing unlawfully obtained information and acknowledged that he should not have disclosed it publicly.

Vučićević: “But the most shocking thing is that €190,000 you discovered for ‘Da smradovi odu’…”
Vučić: “‘Da smradovi odu’, yes, and that expert says…”
Someone else: “They didn’t translate it well… A translation mistake.”
Vučić: “A translation mistake.”
Vučićević: “Now they’re trying, did you see, to explain that it was actually an environmental initiative…”
Vučić: “You’ll soon see what kind of ‘environmental initiative’ that was, there’s more to be revealed about it, but they are right about one thing… Why should I have access to investigation data? So, when the investigation is concluded, then you’ll find out what kind of ‘environmental initiative’ that was—a miracle of ecology.”

In the complaint, CRTA argued that by spreading false information, the President of Serbia intended to cause public panic that could lead to serious disruption of public order or peace, as well as to obstruct or significantly interfere with decision-making and implementation of the decisions in relation to the case by the police and the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, which is overseeing the preliminary investigation against Crta and other civil society organizations.

This case involves an abuse of public office and the use of unverified, fabricated, and false information, which the President of Serbia combined with details from the preliminary investigation, to which he could not have had lawful access. In doing so, undue influence is exerted on the police and the prosecuting authorities, further targeting Crta as an organization allegedly engaged in the unlawful overthrow of the government.

The criminal complaint is filed against:

• Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia
• Nenad Stefanović, Chief Public Prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade
• Jelena Milutinović Ziljkić, Prosecutor at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade – Special Department for Combating Corruption
• Miloš Savić, Head of the Criminal Police Directorate’s Anti-Corruption Department
• Unknown individuals employed at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Directorate, Criminal Police Directorate, Anti-Corruption Department, as well as at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade – Special Department for Combating Corruption.

**The false information misrepresents the amount CRTA granted to the Zrenjanin-based organization Građanski preokret. In 2020, CRTA supported the “So that the stinks go” project, which addressed Zrenjanin’s long-standing environmental issues, including its 20-year lack of access to drinking water. The project had a budget of 180,502 RSD (around 1,500 EUR) for three months and involved street actions, developing online tools for reporting pollution, mapping local infrastructure problems, collecting signatures and submitting them to the Zrenjanin local government.

The project’s title in Serbian “Da smradovi odu” literally translates to “So that the stinks go”, but it can also be interpreted as “So that the scumbags go”. President Vučić deliberately used this ambiguity to falsely support his claims about an alleged color revolution.