The four witnesses who testified yesterday in the Basic Court as witnesses to the attack on Pobjeda journalist Ana Raičković, her son Uroš Gagović, and her fiancé Tomo Arapović on November the 10 in front of the “Gurman” establishment in Blok 5, did not see the attack either inside or outside the venue.
Businessman Zoran Bećirović, his son Luka, and bodyguards Mladen Mijatović (an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Ljubiša Dukić are on trial for violent behavior.
According to Pobjeda, Raičković asked the witnesses yesterday if they knew who else, besides those who know the accused, was present in the establishment. However, neither the owner of the establishment, Ranko Radulović, nor his relative, police officer Srđan Korać, saw other guests or knew which staff members were present. Likewise, neither attorney Balša Dragović nor taxi driver Miloš Stanković, who initially stated that he had experienced immense pressure from police officers and the prosecutor regarding this case, saw the other guests, despite mentioning that the venue was full.
Korać, who said he did not see Raičković or her son Uroš that night, emphasized that he was alone in the restaurant.
“I was sitting facing the opening of the establishment overlooking Dalmatinska Street. I noticed that around 9 p.m., Bećirović and Mijatović arrived. I don’t know them personally; I know Mijatović as my colleague, and I recognize Bećirović from the media,” Korać explained.
At one point, he saw Arapović enter quickly, greet him, then heard him talking on the phone before leaving.
“I then went to the toilet, and when I came out, I saw everyone looking strangely inside the venue, as if something had happened. I approached the bar and asked, ‘What happened?’ They told me, ‘The guys got into a fight.’ After the fight, I saw one of the inspectors, to whom I explained that I didn’t know what had happened but that the case could easily be solved because there were cameras,” Korać said.
Witness Balša Dragović told the court that he did not see Raičković being pulled or hit but did see Luka Bećirović break her car window.
He said he heard mutual insults while sitting with Stanković.
According to him, Dukić got up, separated Bećirović, Mijatović, and Raičković to prevent contact.
“He was asking her to leave, shouting at them to back off and return to their table. She left and then returned, saying she would record with her phone. Dukić pleaded with her to leave, but everyone was persistent in the argument. When I say that, I mean Bećirović and Mladen, who persisted in making comments, and on the other side, the injured party was also persistent,” Dragović said.
After that, he heard Raičković begging her son not to approach them and crying out.
“A gray-haired man arrived who was calming the young man down. Then I saw Mladen get up and talk to the gray-haired man for 10 seconds. Then the young man ran and hit Mladen in the head. He struck him hard, causing him to fall inside Gurman,” he said.
Then, according to his statement, he turned and saw Ljubo Dukić running towards Gurman. He pulled the young man away, saying, “Get out of here.”
Dukić then, as he stated, pulled out Raičković and Arapović.
“I turned and saw a dark-haired man with a club; soon he ran towards the kiosks. Dukić stood in the doorway to prevent Mijatović and Bećirović from going out. When they exited, Mijatović and Bećirović approached the blue-clad person, shouting, ‘Just tell us who this guy is.’ She screamed, ‘I can’t say, I won’t say who the guy is,’ and asked Dukić to protect her,” Dragović added.
Radulović: I didn’t see anyone hitting Raičković, nor would I allow it
The owner of the Gurman restaurant, Ranko Radulović, said he did not see anyone hitting Raičković and that he would not have allowed it.
He highlighted Dukić’s actions as a key moment, stating that he acted chivalrously.
“He acted like a person trying to save the entire situation. He separated the young man and Mijatović. Then he physically prevented everyone from leaving the venue. I’m sorry Raičković and her son didn’t use the moment to leave. I saw the young man run towards Blok 5, but I didn’t know Raičković and Arapović hadn’t left. The last thing I saw was Dukić and Raičković sitting together in a car and leaving towards the gas station,” Radulović explained.
He added that the injured party tried to separate her son and that it was a sad situation, saying she only had him.
“It was hard to watch. When Dukić arrived, the young man no longer approached Mijatović and was no longer aggressive; he left, followed by Raičković and Arapović,” he added.
He explained that from where he was sitting, he could only see the ordering counter and the entrance door but not the terrace where the accused were sitting.
Stanković: I am under great pressure from the prosecution and police
Witness Miloš Stanković claimed that when he went to the police to collect a summons for the prosecution, they told him everything was visible on the recordings, that the injured party had been beaten, and they told him what to say.
“The prosecutor harassed me and argued with the defense attorney,” said Stanković.
He said that after the physical altercation began, he fled through the back door and watched everything through the glass.
“Then a dark-haired man came and broke up the fight; I could see everything clearly. I was six meters away. Ana was holding back her son, shouting, ‘No, son, you’ll kill him.’ The dark-haired man (Dukić) also pushed out the man in the black jacket and Arapović, not allowing the Bećirovićs and Mijatović to go outside,” Stanković said.
Bećirović and Mijatović remain in custody
Defense attorney Danilo Mićović again requested the release of Bećirović and Mijatović from custody, but the court rejected the request, explaining that the reasons for their detention and its extension still applied.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 7.
To recall, during the trial held on January 31, the accused denied the charges, claiming they did not “lay a finger” on Raičković and her family members, nor did they insult or threaten them.
Zoran and Luka Bećirović and Mijatović were arrested on November 10 last year, while the younger Bećirović and Dukić were released to defend themselves from freedom after being detained by the prosecution.
The accused are charged with violent behavior, punishable by up to five years in prison.
At the hearing on February 6, Raičković detailed the attack when she was initially physically assaulted along with her family members.
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