Police raided the home of Novica Antic, the former head of the Military Union of Serbia, once again on Friday following a High Court decision to revoke his house arrest and transfer him to Belgrade's Central Prison, his attorney Ivan Ninic told Nova.rs.
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Ninic said that the High Court sustained the prosecution’s appeal, citing the possibility of Antic repeating the offense due to his internet access as the reason for imposing the stricter detention measure.
The lawyer expressed surprise at the court’s decision, evaluating Antic’s case as part of a broader government crackdown on political dissidents, Nova.rs reported.
“The president of the judicial council, Dragan Milosevic, is one of the regime’s biggest loyalists. He is known as a man who ruthlessly services the interests of the authorities. For the past two years, terror has been carried out in a situation where detention is unlawful, over a speech offense. Under the patronage of Dragan Milosevic, I now have no doubt that the wishes of the authorities are being executed. He is the guardian of their throne,” Ninic said.
According to Ninic, the government is afraid of elections, and Antic poses a problem because of his influence on shaping public opinion regarding the military. Ninic said that this is why Antic is being targeted by the Military Security Agency (VBA).
The lawyer believes that the security services are focused on preserving the regime and that their role will become even more apparent in the coming days.
“The military service has been harnessed to preserve power. The VBA has a much greater influence, and (former Serbian president) Aleksandar Vucic relies more heavily on them. The true nature of both the VBA and the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) will be revealed in the coming hours and days,” Ninic said.
He assessed that Antic is being treated as a potential coup organizer, even though, as he claims, Antic has neither the intention nor the capacity for it.
Members of the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP) previously detained Antic at his home in Kragujevac on October 17 over a post on the social media platform X concerning an unannounced military exercise involving automatic weapons fire on the night of October 14 in the village of Stubica near Paracin. He is suspected of committing the criminal offense of causing panic and disorder via social media.
“There is no criminal offense in the actions he is charged with. While Novica is treated this way, those who are destroying the country bear no responsibility. This is a reckoning with political dissidents,” Ninic emphasized.
Electronic devices seized
The lawyer also noted that during the raid on Antic’s family home, police seized all of the family’s electronic devices, including the phone of an eight-year-old child that contained only games and childhood photos. He added all of that was subsequently handed over to the military police.
“This fourth raid and search serve exclusively to seize electronic devices and try to find anything that could serve as a pretext for creating a fictitious story about a coup. All of this only confirms that the military services are determined to frame Novica for a coup plot and present him as someone behind such activities. They need material on which they can base performances in their media outlets,” Ninic said.
He announced that the defense will appeal the decision, but expressed doubt regarding the outcome of the proceedings.
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