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the Special Police Unit, including Mitrovic, after theHumanitarian Law Center filed a criminal complaintagainst 16 of the members. Four were arrested at therequest of the prosecutor’s office; Mitrovic was alreadyin custody for the pending Suva Reka case. The center’scomplaint was based on insider witnesses from the policeforce in Leskovac, who then became protected witnessesfor the prosecution’s case; two of them were relocatedfrom Leskovac. However, the witnesses claimed that theunit charged with their protection actually harassed them,pressured them to discontinue their cooperation and askedfor information about other potential witnesses. Accordingto a Humanitarian Law Center report, one witness claimedthat unit members “cut off his electricity from time to time,[raided] his apartment at any time of day … have asked himif he has engaged in sexual intercourse with Natasa Kandic,and [said] that it is better to withdraw his statement.”The protected witnesses departed the case, whichsubsequently stalled. (The suspects were also released.)Jovanovic said that the controversy is complicated bythe possibility that, as prosecutors and members of theunit have contended, a few of the insider witnesses madeinappropriate demands for their testimony. Nevertheless,he said it appears clear that the witness protection unitpressured the witnesses not to testify. This is an alarmingproblem for war crimes cases, which often require insiderwitnesses, and it has led to recommendations by EuropeanUnion officials and other observers that the unit be removedfrom the police forces of the Interior Ministry and placedinside the Justice Ministry. The witness protection problemand other obstructive forces led the Belgrade Center forHuman Rights to conclude that “the Serbia authorities arenot prepared to confront the past and prosecute those mostresponsible for the grave crimes” from the wars.The prosecutor’s office has reportedly acknowledgedproblems with the unit, though when asked aboutthe scandal for this article Vukcevic said his officehas confidence inthe witness protectionservices."Most certainly,the situation is oftencomplicated and quitedifficult at times," headded. "Still, a factthat should not beoverlooked is that theeffectiveness of such aprotective mechanismalso depends on thewitnesses themselves,i.e. on their properunderstanding ofwhat their own rightsand duties are withinthe program."Kandic said that theunit has not behavedi n a p p r o p r i a t e l ytowards victim orother witnesses,who can testify safely even if they are ultimately angeredby the judgments. Petrovic, the former analyst from theprosecutor's office, added that the unit has performed wellin some cases, but it varies by the individuals involved witheach assignment: “If it’s done by normal people, it’s good;if not, it can be a problem.”Tensions between the prosecutor's office and Kandichave continued to escalate. The Humanitarian Law Center’sMarch 2011 report on the witness protection problemsalso alleged that the deputy warThe PROTESTS:crimes prosecutor on the case,Arrests andDragoljub Stankovic, did not behavetransfers ofprofessionally and advised witnesseshigh-level ICTYnot to testify. Kandic also appearedfugitives, such ason the B92 radio station thatRatko Mladic, themonth and said her organizationformer Bosnianhad information from sources whoSerb militaryclaimed that the release of Mitrovicleader, have beenand the other suspects involved themet with protestspaying of a bribe to the prosecutor’sby those whooffice. Though she did not name theview the accusedalleged beneficiary, Stankovic wasas war heroes.described as such in the center'sL A W D R A G O N 48 I s s u e 13Photo by: Leskovsek Matej/SIPA/Newscom