Bratislav Dikić, head of Niš Prison, faces potential jail time
A former convict in the case concerning the alleged attempted terrorist attack in Montenegro in October 2016, a Serbian Gendarmerie general and now the head of Niš Prison, has found himself at the centre of a scandal involving the alleged collection of votes for Aleksandar Vučić across all 29 prisons in Serbia
Anything is possible in Serbia following Aleksandar Vučić’s defeat, even a prison governor ending up behind bars.
Bratislav Dikić, the former head of the Serbian Gendarmerie, who was once convicted in Montenegro and subsequently acquitted in connection with the alleged attempted terrorist attack in 2016, has once again found himself at the centre of a criminal complaint - this time in his capacity as head of Niš Prison. He could face imprisonment.
THE PRISON VOTE-GATHERING SCHEME
Lawyer Ivan Ninić has filed a criminal complaint and submitted evidence which, he says, confirms that Justice Minister Nenad Vujić, his adviser Milica Radonjić, the Director of the Administration for the Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions, the governors of all 29 prisons in Serbia and approximately 30 other individuals acted as an organised criminal group between 30 April and 25 October, exerting pressure on convicted prisoners to vote for Vučić in the elections.
- The scheme operated through a Viber group in which all 29 prison governors were required to participate, under the working or code name „Headquarters“. They reported to and accounted for their activities to a certain adviser, Milica Radonjić. She demanded results from them, assigned tasks and quotas, measured their performance and reprimanded them when they failed to carry out their duties properly- lawyer Ivan Ninić told Serbian broadcaster N1.
One of the photographs presented by lawyer Ninić shows Bratislav Dikić, head of Niš Prison, sending a Viber message stating, and we quote, that everything was ready. The photograph shows rows of convicted prisoners waiting to vote.
According to Ninić’s criminal complaint, all other prison governors followed Dikić’s example. One of them, the head of the Correctional Institution in Kruševac, allegedly sent a photograph of a ballot paper with the number 1 circled and his personal identity card placed over it.
Following this, the Justice Minister’s adviser warned the group members not to share any photographs in the chat.
Milica Radonjić also reportedly instructed members to destroy or delete the Viber group on Sunday, 25 October, between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Most prison governors complied. However, some heads of correctional institutions saved the messages, which lawyer Ninić has included in his criminal complaint.
AN „INNOCENT“ PARTICIPANT IN THE ALLEGED ATTEMPTED TERRORIST ATTACK
Retired Serbian Gendarmerie General Bratislav Dikić was arrested in Montenegro as part of an operation targeting individuals suspected of involvement in an alleged attempted terrorist attack on the day of the parliamentary elections, 16 October 2016.
During the trial, messages exchanged between Dikić and cooperating witness Saša Sinđelić were read out in court. Montenegro’s Special State Prosecutor’s Office alleged that, on the night of 16 October, after voting in the parliamentary elections had ended and as supporters of the then Democratic Front were gathering, Dikić was supposed to command the unrest and the storming of the Parliament building.
In May 2019, the High Court in Podgorica sentenced him to eight years in prison for the criminal offences of creating a criminal organisation and attempted terrorism through aiding and abetting.
ALMOST 70 YEARS IN PRISON, AND THEN...
At the time, all 13 defendants were found guilty and sentenced to a combined total of almost 70 years in prison. Among them were two GRU agents: Eduard Shishmakov, who received a 15-year sentence, and Vladimir Popov, who was sentenced to 12 years.
In addition to Dikić, who, as already mentioned, received an eight-year prison sentence, Serbian nationals Predrag Bogićević and Nemanja Ristić were each sentenced to seven years in prison.
Democratic Front leaders Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević were each sentenced to five years in prison.
The following Serbian nationals were also given prison sentences: Branka Milić (three years), Dragan Maksić (one year and nine months), Srboljub Đorđević and Milan Dušić (one year and six months each). Mihailo Čađenović received the same sentence, while Serbian citizen Kristina Hristić was given a two-year suspended sentence.
...A FINAL ACQUITTAL
In February 2021, the Court of Appeal of Montenegro overturned the initial conviction. In February 2026, the Court of Appeal issued a final acquittal for all defendants in the attempted terrorist attack case, including Bratislav Dikić.
In May 2021, Bratislav Dikić was appointed Assistant Director General of the public company Srbijašume (Serbia Forests). In August 2026, he was appointed head of the Niš Correctional Institution.
Following the change of power on 25 October, and particularly after lawyer Ninić drafted a criminal complaint running to as many as 380 pages, Bratislav Dikić, head of Niš Prison, is likely to have some restless nights ahead.