The Danka Ilić case and the police's handling of it

Category: Above the law

Period: from 26 Mar 2024

Outcome: Under investigation (as of 7 Oct 2026)

Danka Ilić, aged two, was missing for ten days, and the Interior Ministry held not a single press conference during the search. Then, in April 2024, President Aleksandar Vučić announced that the girl had been killed and that the suspects had, as he understood it, confessed. Her body has not been found, none of more than 500 traces carry her DNA, and the suspects say their confessions were extracted through torture. According to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš, the Internal Control Sector failed for two years to act on its orders in the investigation into the alleged torture and a death in custody. Eight police officers have been arrested over the death, and the trial begins in November 2026.

Announcement at a government session

Two-year-old Danka Ilić went missing on 26 March 2024 in Banjsko Polje near Bor. After a ten-day search, during which the Interior Ministry did not hold a single press conference, President Aleksandar Vučić announced at an emergency government session on 4 April that the girl had been killed and that the suspects had, as he understood it, confessed.

The same day, Interior Minister Bratislav Gašić described in detail how, according to the confessions, two workers of Bor's Vodovod water utility hit the child with a car and dumped her body at a landfill.

No body and no DNA

The girl's body has never been found. The Prosecutor's Office in Zaječar said that none of more than 500 traces taken from the car contained the girl's DNA. The suspects withdrew their confessions, saying they had been extracted through police torture.

Death at the Bor police station

The brother of one of the suspects died in a police station in Bor. The Interior Ministry said he died of natural causes, but the autopsy showed injuries. In December 2024, Minister Ivica Dačić confirmed that the officers who had questioned him had not been suspended.

In November 2026, eight officers of the Criminal Police Directorate were arrested on the orders of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš. They are suspected of torture and of causing the grievous bodily harm from which he died.

Three indictments and a trial

The Court of Appeal in Niš first quashed the confirmation of the indictment and then quashed it again, citing among other things that „there is no evidence that death resulted“. A third indictment was confirmed in 2026, and the proceedings against the father of one of the defendants were discontinued with final effect.

The preparatory hearing for both defendants, for whom the indictment seeks life imprisonment, was held on 30 October 2026 before the Higher Court in Negotin, closed to the public. The main trial is scheduled for 19, 20, 23 and 24 November.

Torture investigation stalled

The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš is investigating whether the confessions were extracted by force and how the detainee died. It says both cases are still at the pre-investigation stage after two years because the Interior Ministry's Internal Control Sector does not act on its orders. In the death case, the prosecutor's office says the Sector did not even carry out orders to arrest the suspected officers until November 2026.

Participants

Aleksandar Vučić: According to an analysis by Danas, although he has no authority to disclose details of an investigation, he announced the girl's murder and the suspects' confessions at a government session (responsible)
Bratislav Gašić: At a press conference he described, based on the confessions, how the girl was hit by a car, and he did not consider the president's announcement problematic (commented on the case)
Ivica Dačić: He said the police officers who questioned the man who died at the Bor police station had not been suspended and that there was no cover-up (commented on the case)
Slavica Radovanović: She said Gašić must be held accountable for what she called a false statement about a natural death (oversight and the public)
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: It first said that the death of a detainee at the Bor Police Department was natural, but the autopsy showed physical injuries; the suspects allege torture (responsible)
Internal Control Sector of the Interior Ministry (MUP): According to the Niš Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, it has for two years failed to act on the prosecution's orders concerning the confessions and the death at the police station in Bor (responsible)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Zaječar: It said there was no DNA on the traces from the car and brought indictments based on confessions that had been withdrawn (investigation and courts)
Higher Court in Zaječar: It confirmed the indictment, and the Court of Appeal in Niš overturned that confirmation twice, the second time stating that there was no evidence that death had occurred (investigation and courts)
Court of Appeal in Niš: It twice overturned the confirmation of the indictment, the second time because there was no evidence that death had occurred; in 2026 it rejected the defence appeals against the new indictment (investigation and courts)
Higher Court in Negotin: It confirmed the new indictment, dropped proceedings against the father of one of the accused and held a preparatory hearing closed to the public (investigation and courts)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš: It is examining whether the confessions were coerced and how the detainee died, and says the Internal Control Sector is not acting on its orders (investigation and courts)
Criminal Police Directorate (UKP), Interior Ministry: Eight of her police officers were arrested in 2026 on suspicion of torturing the brother of one of the accused, who died at the station in Bor (responsible)