Today, the Ministry of Justice has made recommendations to Serbian judicial authorities for dealing with cases of self-isolation measure violations whereby the criminal offences of failure to comply with health regulations during an epidemic and transmission of a communicable disease during the state of emergency are committed.
Specifically, it is recommended that public prosecutor’s offices make a mandatory request for detention of all persons violating the self-isolation measure imposed on them by the competent authorities (health and interior ministries). In other words, if a person violates the self-isolation measure, the public prosecutor must propose that the court impose the detention measure on such person which will be served in special institutions intended for this purpose.
The Penal Sanctions Enforcement Administration of the Ministry of Justice has allocated three facilities run by the Administration to accommodate the above-mentioned offenders. These facilities are located in Vršac, Požarevac and Pirot and will be secured by the prison guard and police.
When ordering detention, the competent authorities will take into account the time limits under the Criminal Procedure Code as well as those specified in public health quarantine regulations.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice recommends that the Republic Prosecutor file a disciplinary complaint against the public prosecutor in charge or his/her deputy, as the case may be, if they fail to follow the instructions.
The Ministry of Justice calls upon all citizens to comply with the self-isolation measure and all other instructions issued by health authorities and the Serbian Government. By doing so, they will demonstrate much-needed solidarity which is of great importance in preventing the spread of the infection as much as possible.
Footage of detention facilities for those who violate the self-isolation measure can be downloaded by the media from the Infobiro’s website free of charge after 3 p.m. today.