Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić today accused European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula of directly interfering in Serbia's internal affairs and abusing his "meaningless function" in the most brutal way.
"Who are you to comment on the statements of the President of Serbia, what left-wing factor of the European Union? Who cares what you think, except for a few of our domestic on-call flies, who gratefully dismiss any criticism of Serbia," Brnabić wrote on X.
"Who are you even preaching to about pressure on the prosecution and judiciary, when you were the first to exert unacceptable pressure to release terrorists from custody? You have directly interfered in Serbia's internal affairs and have most crudely abused your certainly meaningless position within the European Parliament in order to issue orders to the prosecution of a sovereign country. Picula, keep your hands off Serbia," said the head of that country's parliament.
Picula stated earlier today that the statements of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić are becoming increasingly bizarre in the search for external culprits for the deep divisions in Serbia.
"He himself is putting pressure on the judiciary because he is demanding the immediate release from custody of the perpetrators who seriously injured a female student in Novi Sad," Picula wrote on Iks.
He previously told Zagreb's Večernji list that Vučić is losing control over certain segments in Serbia itself, and that his statements are becoming more bizarre the greater these losses.
Picula gave a short interview to that media outlet in Brussels, after Vučić again mentioned him in an offensive context.
Speaking about the case of Marija Vasić, who was arrested two months ago on charges of undermining the constitutional order, and who went on a hunger strike and thirst strike about ten days ago, Vučić stated yesterday:
"She eats and drinks like a dragon. She has no problems. There's nothing wrong with her. You just lied. Picula got involved. We don't keep people in Jasenovac like these. Shame on you, you'll tell us. There's nothing wrong with her, but there are guys who have been in detention twice as long, and no one asks about their health..."
Commenting on the statement of the President of Serbia, Picula said:
"First of all, I hope that Ms. Marija Vasić, who had started a hunger and thirst strike, will now feel better after the court's decision and her transfer from a psychiatric hospital to house arrest. I also hope that she will recover. As for Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, his statements are becoming more and more bizarre, to the extent that he is clearly losing control over certain segments in Serbia itself. Of course, everyone is to blame for the deep polarization in which the country has been for months. Everyone, except for him and the people he is surrounded by. One interesting fact should not be forgotten. He himself put pressure on the judiciary, saying that the violent people who really physically attacked and injured a female student in Novi Sad should be urgently released from custody. So, they have to agree among themselves whether this was a violent act, for which they ended up in custody, or whether these were innocent people prosecuted. But it was precisely at that time that the then Prime Minister Miloš Vučević filed a lawsuit because of this "resignation, and the government fell a little later. Therefore, we are actually talking about a situation in Serbia for which, unfortunately, there is currently no quick solution in sight. But the crisis is primarily contributed to by the policies and actions of the current president."
When asked how he personally feels about Vučić's mention of his name alongside Jasenovac, Picula replied that the Serbian president is reducing his country to a caricature.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is not his first outburst against me and I think it's just an indication that I'm doing my job well," Picula said.
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