Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations
Two senior police figures are suspected of misconduct in an investigation into a murder case.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
![Marko Kricak is seen as a loyalist to defeated leader Aleksandar Vucic [File: Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/s1-1793542727.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
Marko Kricak is seen as a loyalist to defeated leader Aleksandar Vucic [File: Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs]
Photograph: Al Jazeera (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Serbian authorities arrested Marko Kricak, head of the criminal police directorate, and Bosko Sekulovic, police commander for fighting organised crime.
- Prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic stated Kricak and Sekulovic are suspected of abusing their offices and failing to uphold duties, causing prejudice to former police chief Veselin Milic.
- The allegations surfaced in an investigation into the murder of a criminal underworld figure in May.
- The prosecutor's office stated the arrests are not linked to the legislative elections held a week prior.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 21 of the 27 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
58/100
Craft
66/100
Hype
45/100
27 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Serbian authorities have arrested Marko Kricak, the head of the criminal police directorate, and Bosko Sekulovic, the police commander responsible for combating organised crime. The arrests were announced by Belgrade's chief prosecutor, Nenad Stefanovic. He stated that both officials are suspected of abusing their positions and failing to fulfil their duties, which allegedly caused prejudice and harm to the rights of Veselin Milic, a former police chief.
These allegations emerged as part of an ongoing investigation into the murder of a figure from the criminal underworld, which occurred in May. Milic, who was arrested shortly after the murder for allegedly failing to report the crime and assisting the perpetrator, initiated legal action against Kricak and Sekulovic while in custody. He accused them of providing incomplete and false evidence to prosecutors.
Disagreement on election links
The prosecutor's office stated that the arrests have no connection to the legislative elections that took place a week before the detentions. Al Jazeera reported that Stefanovic explicitly told journalists that the arrest was not linked to the election results. However, Aktuality.sk suggested the arrests followed a 'clear student victory' and came a week after the 'historic defeat' of President Aleksandar Vucic's party.
What the coverage left out
None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports mention the specific date of the murder investigation that led to the arrests, only that it occurred in May. The full reports from Al Jazeera and Portfolio do not mention the specific number of people killed in the Novi Sad railway station disaster, which Al Jazeera reported on in a separate section.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 1 Nov 2026, 17:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports highlighted Marko Kricak's association with defeated President Aleksandar Vucic and his past accusations of police brutality. Al Jazeera noted that Kricak was seen as a loyalist to Vucic and that student groups had accused him of brutality during protests that contributed to the downfall of Vucic's party. Index HR reported that Kricak, described as Vučić's police chief, allegedly beat a man with a belt and choked him with a hood. Dnevni list Danas mentioned that Kricak was detained for 48 hours in the 'Senjak' case and that his resignation had previously been demanded by representatives of the Student List. LiFO also reported Kricak faced allegations of police brutality during mass anti-government protests. In.gr and ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 stated that the student movement had accused him of brutality during the suppression of protests against Vucic's government. Documento mentioned that the student movement had accused him of police violence during anti-government protests.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- Portfolio's report focused on the initiation of accountability in Serbia, stating that Vucic's confidant, Marko Kricak, was detained on suspicion of abuse of office. The report identified Kricak as the head of the Serbian criminal police (UKP) and noted he was considered a confidant of former President Aleksandar Vucic. It also mentioned his name became known due to police violence against anti-government protesters.
Right
1 rated outlet
- Protothema's report identified Marko Krčak as a high-ranking police officer considered to be 'Vucic's man' and stated he is accused of abuse of power. The report also noted that he was targeted by students for police violence during anti-government protests.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 27. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations biased?
- Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations is one event reported by 27 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Serbia Arrests Top Police Officials on Abuse of Office Allegations?
- 27 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who has been arrested in Serbia?
- Serbian authorities have arrested Marko Kricak, the head of the criminal police directorate, and Bosko Sekulovic, the police commander for fighting organised crime. They are suspected of abusing their offices and failing to uphold their duties.
- What are the allegations against the arrested police officials?
- Prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic stated that Kricak and Sekulovic are suspected of abusing their offices and failing to uphold their duties, which allegedly caused prejudice and harm to former police chief Veselin Milic. These allegations surfaced during an investigation into a murder.
- Are the arrests linked to the recent elections?
- The prosecutor's office has stated that the arrests have no link to the legislative elections held a week prior. However, some reports suggest a connection to political developments following the elections and the defeat of President Aleksandar Vucic's party.
Read it at the source
27 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Serbia arrests police chief over abuse of office allegations (opens Al Jazeera in a new tab)
Al Jazeera — is Al Jazeera biased? Our profile of this outlet
- New Details: Arrested Vučić's Police Chief Beat Man with Belt, Choked Him with Hood (opens IndexHR in a new tab)
- The 'Senjak' Case: Marko Kričko Was Detained for 48 Hours (opens Dnevni list Danas in a new tab)
Dnevni list Danas — is Dnevni list Danas biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: Head of Criminal Investigation Directorate Arrested for Abuse of Power (opens in.gr in a new tab)
Centre
1Right
1Not rated
21- Serbia: High-Ranking Police Officer Arrested for Ties to Vucic and Abuse of Power (opens Documento in a new tab)
- Serbia: High-Ranking Police Officer Arrested – Accused of Abuse of Power (opens pelop.gr in a new tab)
- Serbia: Top Police Officer Arrested - Allegations of Abuse of Power and Connection to Vucic (opens Newsit.gr in a new tab)
- Serbia: Head of Criminal Police Arrested (opens ieidiseis.gr in a new tab)
ieidiseis.gr — is ieidiseis.gr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: Head of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Police Arrested for Abuse of Power (opens enikos.gr in a new tab)
- Serbia: Senior Police Officer Arrested for Alleged Violence Against Protesters (opens LiFO in a new tab)
- Arrest of the Head of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Serbian Police (opens larissanet.gr in a new tab)
larissanet.gr — is larissanet.gr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: Arrest of High-Ranking Police Officer and Vucic Associate (opens npress.gr in a new tab)
Show 13 more
- Serbia: Head of Criminal Investigation Directorate Arrested for Abuse of Power (opens ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 in a new tab)
ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 — is ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Arrest of the Head of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Serbian Police (opens rthess.gr in a new tab)
- The Head of the Serbian Police Criminal Investigation Department Was Arrested for Abuse of Power (opens CNN Greece in a new tab)
CNN Greece — is CNN Greece biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: Head of Criminal Police Detained Following the Legislative Elections (opens Noticias ao Minuto in a new tab)
Noticias ao Minuto — is Noticias ao Minuto biased? Our profile of this outlet
- After a Clear Student Victory in Serbia, a Purge Comes. Vučić's Police Ally Ends up in Handcuffs for Abuse of Power (opens Aktuality.sk in a new tab)
Aktuality.sk — is Aktuality.sk biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: Chief of the Criminal Police, Accused of "Brutality" During the Anti-Power Protests, Arrested in an Investigation (opens economica.net in a new tab)
economica.net — is economica.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbian Police Chief Arrested (opens Fréttir - mbl.is in a new tab)
Fréttir - mbl.is — is Fréttir - mbl.is biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: Head of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Police Arrested for Abuse of Power (opens insider.gr in a new tab)
insider.gr — is insider.gr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Serbia: The Head of the Police Criminal Investigation Service (opens Business Daily in a new tab)
Business Daily — is Business Daily biased? Our profile of this outlet
- CHIEF PROSECUTOR ANNOUNCED: Kričak and Sekulović Remain in Custody for up to 48 Hours! (opens serbiantimes.info in a new tab)
serbiantimes.info — is serbiantimes.info biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Head of Criminal Police Arrested in Serbia (opens siol.net in a new tab)
- Stefanović: The Head of the UKP and the Head of the SSK Were Detained for up to 48 Hours (opens nsuzivo.rs in a new tab)
nsuzivo.rs — is nsuzivo.rs biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Nenad Stefanović: The Head of the UKP and the Head of the SSK Were Detained for up to 48 Hours (opens tanjug.rs in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
