Bratislav Dikić
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Bratislav Dikić ( sr-cyr, Братислав Дикић; born 19 May 1970) is a Serbian former police general and the commander of the Serbian special police unit the
Gendarmery Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...
from 2009 to 2013.


Early life and education

Bratislav Dikić was born in 1970 in Niš, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. Dikić holds a PhD in Crisis Management at the Union University, Faculty of Management in
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
.


Police career

He worked in the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs since 15 April 1991. His first post was part of the traffic police in Priština. Starting 1 July 1992 he served in the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) where he successfully served for 10 years. On 1 April 1994 Dikić was promoted to the rank of Junior Inspector. He was later promoted to Police Sergeant. From 1 December 2001 he was part of the
Gendarmery Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...
working on counterintelligence and gradually reached the rank of Police Lieutenant on 3 March 2009. During his career Dikić received a number of awards and decorations including a war cross.


Gendarmery Commander

Dikić became commander of the specialized Gendarmery of Serbia, on 3 June 2009, at the suggestion of Director of the Police Force Milorad Veljović who reportedly said "He's from a good home, and most importantly, he's a decent man". Before this, Dikić was commander of the Niš unit. He was promoted to General of the Police by Interior Minister Ivica Dačić on 21 January 2011 on the occasion of the ministry's bicentennial. As commander of the Gendarmery, Dikić was at the heart of a number of scandals. In March 2011 the Administration of the Criminal Police probed into his links to an alleged wiretapping scandal. A commission that checked the premises of the Gendarmery was formed two days after they had already been alerted to the probe. Dikić, as well as Ivica Dačić, denied these allegations. In late 2011 and early 2012, data leaked during a systematization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs generated a controversy as to whether Dikić was in the process of creating a Detachment for Special Actions modeled on the Special Operations Unit numbering 600 officers, and mostly made up of former members of the unit. Further leaks pointed to Dikić often being called " Little Legija" by members of the Gendarmery. He denied such a nickname on the show ''Između dve vatre'', broadcast on
B92 RTV B92, or simply B92 (stylized as b92, formerly BΞ92 and B 92), is a Serbian news station and broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade. Founded in 1989 as radio station, it was a rare outlet for Western news and informat ...
, and claimed that the actual unit being formed was an improved command unit numbering 10 to 15 officers. During the interview on ''Između dve vatre'', Dikić was asked whether his unit had uncovered a weapons store near Novi Pazar, and transported it to their base in
Vlasina Vlasina is a mountainous region of southeastern Serbia. It is a border area to Bulgaria, a region of the Rhodopian Serbia, with old rocks and mountains. Its most prominent landforms are eponymous Vlasina River and Vlasina Lake. It corresponds to ...
, instead of alerting higher authorities. This was uncovered as part of B92's investigative journalism project Insajder. Dikić denied these claims, as well as a declassified police report from 26 July 2010 stating that Dikić's Gendarmery had transported a store of explosives and ammunition uncovered near
Bujanovac Bujanovac ( sr-cyr, Бујановац, ; sq, Bujanoc) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. Situated in the South Morava basin, it is located in the geographical area known as Preševo Valley. It is also ...
to their base in Niš. According to Insajder, this, as well as a wiretapping campaign directed against Dikić's associates and organized by Dikić, was discovered during 2011 as part of a secret investigation inside the police force, code-named "System". Insajder received a confirmation of the existence of this action from the Bureau for the Coordination of Security Services in January 2012. No further details were disclosed. On
Vidovdan Vidovdan ( sr-cyr, Видовдан, lit. "Saint Vitus Day") is a Serbian national and religious holiday, a ''slava'' (feast day) celebrated on 28 June (Gregorian calendar), or 15 June according to the Julian calendar. The Serbian Church desi ...
, 28 June 2012 the Gendarmery presented a new oath authored by Dikić to honor the Gendarmery's
slava Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian ba ...
. It focused heavily on Kosovo, saying there was no Serbia and no Serbian people without it and was criticized by Interior Minister Ivica Dačić who said the oath should not be used seeing as it could be perceived as a threat. In March 2013 Administration of the Criminal Police chief Rodoljub Milović was chased by seven vehicles allegedly belonging to the Gendarmery. According to the
Blic ''Blic'' (Cyrillic: Блиц, ) is a daily middle-market tabloid newspaper in Serbia. Founded in 1996, ''Blic'' is owned by Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, a joint venture between Ringier media corporation from Switzerland and Axel Springer AG ...
daily, this was part of a year-long "war" between the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Gendarmery, which started in April 2012 when members of the Gendarmery arrested two police officers who had been following them as part of an investigation targeting Dikić concerning the wiretapping scandal. Two other inspectors from the Sector for Internal Control, Ivan Petković and Ljubiša Puzović, had already been chased by cars thought to belong to the Gendarmery. The wiretapping investigation led the Sector for Internal Control to believe that the Gendarmery was behind a money laundering and racketeering campaign headed by Dikić's brother Dragan Dikić. Dikić denied these claims and posted on his Facebook profile that he was a thorn in the side to all enemies of Serbia, saying "The thing that's bothering them is that I'm a Serb". Vladimir Božović, the State Secretary in charge of internal control, ordered an investigation against members of the Gendarmery and Dikić's brother regarding these claims. Dačić supported the investigation and stressed that it was not necessarily against Dikić himself, rather that the investigation was primarily against his associates. In May 2013 allegations surfaced that members of the Gendarmery had been illegally digging for gold near
Gamzigrad Gamzigrad ( sr-Cyrl, , ) is an archaeological site, spa resort and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serbia, located south of the Danube river, in the city of Zaječar. It is the location of the ancient Roman complex of palaces and temples Felix Romu ...
under the pretext of holding practice marches. In June 2013 Dikić and members of the Gendarmery were controversially featured prominently in a music video for the song "Moja zemlja" (''My Land'') by the band Amadeus Bend, with the slogan "God and the Gendarmery keep Serbia safe". The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that no one had previously authorized this, and that he needed special permission from the media bureau. On 27 June 2013 the Gendarmery hosted an unauthorized public exercise as a show of force on Ada Ciganlija in front of tens of thousands of spectators. The show included a concert by Amadeus Bend and was advertised throughout Belgrade under the same slogan as the song. It was supposed to celebrate Vidovdan, and seeing as it was unauthorized both Dačić and Director of the Police Force Milorad Veljović refused to show up.


Deputy Police Commissioner and retirement

He served as commander of Gendarmery until July 2013, when he was appointed as Deputy Police Commissioner. Two years later, Dikić retired after being sacked from public service in December 2015 after reports of alleged involvement in organised crime.


Political work

Upon his retirement, rumors surfaced that Dikić was to be at the top of an electoral list submitted by the War Veterans of Serbia for the 2016 election. Dikić formed the
Patriotic Movement of Serbia Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
(PPS) with Željko Vukelić and Zoran Vranešević on 10 February 2016. The movement intended to draw votes from veterans and war invalids. The PPS held an anti-NATO protest in
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
on 4 March 2016 with the Oathkeepers led by
Milica Đurđević Milica ( sr-Cyrl, Милица; pronounced 'Millitsa') is a feminine name popular in Balkan countries. It is a diminutive form of the given name Mila, meaning 'kind', 'dear' or 'sweet'. The name was used for a number of queens and princesses, inc ...
, the Movement for Serbia led by Dikić's lawyer Goran Petronijević and Serbian Honour, Serbian Honor. The PPS was part of the coalition around the Socialist Party of Serbia at the Vojvodina provincial election, 2016, 2016 Vojvodina elections.


Montenegrin coup attempt

During the 2016 Montenegrin parliamentary election, Dikić was arrested for 2016 Montenegrin coup allegations, coup allegations. On May 9, 2019, he was sentenced to eight years in prison by Higher Court of Montenegro for attempted coup. On February 15, 2021, he was released from prison after Appeals Court of Montenegro annulled the verdict and he returned to Serbia after four years in prison.


References


External links


Official Biography at PPS
(Serbian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dikic, Bratislav 1970 births Living people People from Niš Serbian police officers