Vučić pardons general and 15 accused in 843,336,450‑dinar case
Higher Court in Niš says the presidential pardons, signed on 25 and 27 September, took effect immediately though courts received the documents only on 2 November.
On 3 November 2026 the Higher Court in Niš published the names of 18 people whom President Aleksandar Vučić had pardoned, revealing that among them are a retired general convicted over classified military information and 15 former members of Niš’s emergency headquarters accused in a corruption case worth 843,336,450 dinars. Vučić signed the pardon orders on 25 and 27 September, but the courts only received the documents on 2 November.
According to the Higher Court in Niš, "All the aforementioned presidential pardon decisions came into force on the day of their adoption." The court noted that the pardons were already effective even while criminal proceedings remained open.
Pardons that interrupted pending prosecutions
One high-profile case involves Igor Novaković, the former president of Niš’s city assembly, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for abuse of office. Vučić granted him a conditional pardon on 27 September, but on 20 October the police — following a court order — issued a search notice after Novaković failed to report to begin serving his sentence. The Basic Court in Niš confirmed that the notice was issued on 28 October.
The conditional pardon stipulates that Novaković’s sentence and a five-year security measure will not be executed provided he does not commit a new crime within the next five years; it is not yet clear whether the court that ordered the search had been informed of the pardon.
Retired Lieutenant General Milosav Simović — former commander of Serbia’s Land Forces — is also on the list. He was given a six-month sentence of house arrest over unauthorized handling of classified military information. The verdict described orders to copy official messages onto a private hard drive and to transfer documents marked as "strictly confidential" and "state secret" to his apartment. Vučić not only pardoned the sentence but also lifted a two-year security measure linked to the conviction.
Simović’s lawyer Mirko Krstović has argued that "he did not disclose any secret information to anyone," while former director of the Military Security Agency Momir Stojanović called the case "dirty work" carried out on orders "from above." The court’s verdict was reached on the basis of a plea agreement.
Also affected were 15 former members of Niš’s city Emergency Headquarters who had faced charges of abuse of office in a case alleging damage of 843,336,450 dinars. Prosecutors allege that companies were hired for emergency works at inflated prices. Among those pardoned are Milorad Jerkan, former deputy mayor Dušica Davidović, Vladislava Ivković and other public institution managers; the trial had been scheduled for 6 November but the pardons halted further criminal proceedings in that file.
Additional entries on the list include Bratislav Todorović, who received rehabilitation related to a 2014 conviction; the case number and date correspond to an earlier conviction of a Niš gynecologist for taking a bribe. Questions have also been raised about how the Ministry of Justice handled the process. On 29 September an unnamed ministry official told the agency Beta, "We don't know whom Vučić has pardoned," and said the institution would not participate in implementing the decisions — yet the ministry sent the documents to the courts on 2 November.
Vladimir Prijović, president of the Belgrade Bar Association, said: "What we learned yesterday is truly scandalous news," and argued that some of the published pardons appear to be an abuse of presidential authority. Vučić had announced on 27 September that he had pardoned 49 people despite negative opinions from some expert commissions and security services. With the 18 names now published by the Niš court, courts in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš have confirmed a total of 41 pardons. The Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime has requested the full documentation from the Ministry of Justice. So far there is no official explanation for why the pardon orders were delivered late or whether legal procedures in their adoption were breached.
Photo: press material from the event
