„THE BACKOVIĆ CASE“: The burning of the vehicle has a criminal background, not a political one
The investigation so far, following the burning of a second luxury vehicle used by Serbian Church clergyman in Montenegro, Mijajlo Backović, indicates that Haris Dervišević, suspected of setting fire to the „Range Rover“ on February 3 in Tivat, was hired by an individual who is part of a criminal group that believes the Tivat parish priest owes them a significant amount
Haris Dervišević, suspected of burning the „Range Rover“ driven by Serbian Orthodox Church priest Mijajlo Backović, is defending himself with silence during police questioning. According to Television E, the 35-year-old from Berane, residing in Tivat - who has been ordered into 30-day detention - stated that he had no personal conflict with Backović, but refused to reveal who ordered the vehicle burning.
GAMBLING AND CRIME
Dervišević is previously known to Montenegrin police. He was arrested in December 2020 along with two associates and suspected of stealing watches worth nearly 150,000 euros in Porto Montenegro.
Police state that Dervišević is a regular visitor to casinos and other gambling establishments and is frequently in trouble.
- He is a person prone to gambling, which often leads to financial problems because he owes money to individuals engaged in loan sharking - a Police Directorate source told ETV.
The source emphasized that police are linking the burning of Backović’s vehicle to the priest’s relationships with certain operationally interesting individuals, primarily from Budva.
The ETV source did not want to reveal whether the actions against Backović originate from the criminal group known as the „Budva group“, but did not exclude the possibility of animosity toward the Serbian Church priest from that environment. They stressed that the issue is not about local political matters, but primarily about business dealings related to certain establishments.
SILENCE IS GOLD
According to police assessments, Dervišević was hired by a financially powerful individual capable of paying for the „silence of the perpetrator“, while at the same time the person who ordered the act is part of a criminal group that would severely punish him if he broke his vow of silence.
This is the second vehicle burning involving priest Backović. In January of last year, in front of his family home in Tivat, a luxury „BMW X6“ owned by Backović was set on fire. According to police estimates, the vehicle was worth more than 70,000 euros.
In the Tivat neighborhood of Učuri, on February 4 this year, as is now reasonably suspected, Haris Dervišević set fire to a luxury „Range Rover“ with Belgrade license plates used by Backović. According to police sources, the vehicle is owned by the Belgrade-based company „Auto World“, which deals with car sales and rentals. The owner of the company is Serbian citizen Marko Knežević.
It is currently unknown whether Backović was renting the „Range Rover“.
MOTIVES
As with the first case, the motives behind the second burning of a luxury vehicle driven by Backović are not officially known.
According to ETV sources, the police investigation excludes political reasons for the attacks on Mijajlo Backović’s property. Inspectors are now examining various financial dealings, some related to the operations of the football club „Arsenal“, as well as information concerning debt collection. Two vehicle burnings in 13 months must, according to police inspectors’ assessment, have financial motives.
According to findings from the investigation, this is a continuation of pressure from a criminal group from the coastal region, which believes Backović owes them certain services as well as money.
PARATROOPER OF THE „SERBIAN WORLD“
This is not the first time Mijajlo Backović has been in the public spotlight.
A priest of the Serbian Church and former member of Serbia’s 63rd Parachute Brigade from Niš, Backović has long been politically active and is one of the fervent advocates of the „Serbian World“, a political project aimed at unifying Serbs, with Belgrade as their motherland and capital.
At one point, he influenced the appointment of his close friend Dejan Vukšić as the New Serbian Democracy representative for president of the Municipal Assembly of Kotor. Vukšić later headed the National Security Agency and subsequently served as an adviser to President Jakov Milatović. There is little doubt that Vukšić shared numerous pieces of information with his longtime friend and political ally, priest Backović.
In early 1918, Backović, then president of Orthodox Youth of Montenegro, became one of the founders of the non-governmental organization „Miholjski Zbor“. Orthodox Youth, an organization close to the Serbian Church, is the umbrella organization of all Orthodox brotherhoods and is very active in numerous projects of political organization of Serbs in Montenegro and the region, particularly in the wider Trebinje area.
UNDESIRABLE PERSON
On the last day of January, the ETV Portal reported that Mijajlo Backović, along with four other Serbian politicians, was declared persona non grata by the Republic of Croatia and banned from entering the country.
In April 2025, Backović stated that Croats in Montenegro are a „political project“ that began during World War II, noting that before the war Catholics in the Bay of Kotor identified themselves as „Bokelji or Serbs“. The Serbian Church priest led protests and actions aimed at removing a plaque in Morinj that testified to the aggression against Croatia.
Political activism in favor of the interests of the „Serbian World“ and official Belgrade has provided Mijajlo Backović with political shelter, but evidently has not protected him from actions of a different nature.