Former Serbian Interior Ministry Senior Official Arrested

According to unofficial information, her apartment is being raided and she is being interrogated, reports the REL.

The police have not yet been declared and there is no information about the reasons for its detention.

Diana Hrkalovic was appointed to the post of Secretary of State at the Interior Ministry in 2017.

At that time, the minister's post was held by Nebojsa Stefanovic Serbia's current defence minister. Hrkalovic was described as his closest associate.

In late May 2019, Hrkalovic resigned from her post without giving a reason.

Her name was again mentioned in the media in January 2021, when it was reported that Hrkalovic was one of the persons questioned over the issue of the Serbian president's wiretapping, Aleksandar Vuciq.

The Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor's Department neither confirmed nor denied these claims, and Dijana Hrkalovic never talked about it.

In mid- 2020, pro-government pictures began writing about Hrkalovic's alleged links to a criminal clan in Serbia. But police and procurement have not provided information on this.

The Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime in Belgrade has accused Veljko Bellivuk and his group in a high profile case. Bellivuk and 30 other people were suspects and under investigation for five serious murders, arms and drugs trafficking, a kidnapping and sexual violation. Bellivuk was arrested on February 4th, 2021, and more arrests continued later, in a case that shocked the Serbian public.

Diana Herkalovic was questioned about the case and the media reported that she was questioned about her ties to Bellivuk.

However, her lawyer, Nenad Tasic, told the Institute portal that police asked her questions about the circumstances of endangering the president's security, Aleksandar Vuciq and his family, and that she denied any knowledge of this.

The lawyer also stated that Hrkalovic was asked about her acquaintance with Slavisa Kokez, former president of Serbia's Football Federation. Cocheza was questioned by police for allegedly connecting with the Bellivuk group, which he denied.

Following Bellivuk's arrest, Serbia's president called him and his associates a <x0-deggedga” of the Montenegrin criminal clan and noted that two criminal groups had been established in Serbia.

Researchers in Serbia have reported that Bellivuk and several members of his group allegedly during the court hearing claimed that Serbia's President, Aleksandar Vuciq, and his associates have asked [Bellivuk] for more services.

These services include controlling football hooligans and antigovernmental protests.

Serbia's president as well as Interior Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vullin denied these claims.

The opposition in Serbia called for investigation into these claims linking Bellivuk to senior state officials.