Dark Past: After Draža Mihailović, Serbia rehabilitates "people's enemy" Milan Nedić

The Higher Court in Belgrade has scheduled the continuation of the process for the rehabilitation of Milan Nedić, the Serbian Prime Minister during the occupation in World War II, for today, according to Serbian media, Patria reports.

In the period since the last hearing held in November, the court issued a decision rejecting the request of the Union of Jewish Municipalities of Serbia and the Jewish Municipality of Belgrade to participate in the rehabilitation proceedings as an interested party.

There is a right to appeal this decision to the Appellate Court within 15 days, but it is not yet known whether the Jewish municipalities have appealed.

Otherwise, the Higher Court pointed out in its decision that the rehabilitation procedure is a non-contentious procedure, meaning there is no dispute between two parties, and therefore Jewish communities cannot participate in this procedure because there is no opposing party to the rehabilitation proponent to whom they could join, and because these municipalities have an opposing interest to the proponent.

A similar situation with interested parties, opponents of rehabilitation, occurred during the process for the rehabilitation of Dragoljub Draža Mihailović, when the Appellate Court definitively decided that SUBNOR and some other associations that opposed the rehabilitation did not have the right to participate in the procedure.

Regarding the participation of the prosecution, it does not have the right to get involved in this procedure, given that the procedure is conducted under the Law on Rehabilitation from 2006, which strictly defines the procedure as "unilateral".

The Law on Rehabilitation from 2011 allows the prosecution, if it opposes rehabilitation, to join the procedure, thus making it a "bilateral procedure".

Tanjug confirmed from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade that the prosecution recently reviewed the files of Nedić's case and then forwarded them for an opinion to the Appellate Prosecutor's Office, which confirmed that, according to the law, the prosecutor cannot interfere in this procedure.

Nedić's descendants have asked the court to annul the Decree of the Government of FPR Yugoslavia by which Milan Nedić was declared a people's enemy and on the basis of which his civil and property rights were revoked, i.e., to rehabilitate him.

Milan Nedić was never convicted, nor was an indictment filed against him. He allegedly committed suicide in custody, and it was never announced where he was buried.

The rehabilitation proceedings have caused public outcry, as a part of the public considers Nedić a criminal and believes the court should reject the rehabilitation.