General
Srulik Einhorn, with his legal advisors, arrives for questioning at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. Photo: Filip Krainčanić/ Haaretz/BIRN
Wanted Israeli PR consultant Srulik Einhorn, who has done promotional work for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, was questioned by Israeli investigators this week in Belgrade – but his Serbian lawyer told BIRN that he cannot disclose details of the interview because part of it has been deemed “strictly confidential”.
“I’m not in a position to provide more information, as part of the proceedings has been classified ‘strictly confidential’, which prevents me from sharing further details,” lawyer Djordje Simic told BIRN.
Einhorn is a suspect in two major cases in Israel: “Qatargate”, involving alleged paid promotion of Qatari interests in Israel; and “Bibileaks”, which concerns leaks of classified military documents to a journalist from Germany’s Bild newspaper.
Simic noted that Einhorn has denied all the allegations and answered numerous questions “at length and in detail, presenting very specific facts and evidence”, despite having the right to remain silent.
“I firmly believe that Einhorn’s compelling testimony has completely demystified and delegitimized the case initiated in Israel, making it clear to everyone that this is a politically motivated prosecution, not a criminal one,” he told BIRN.
The questioning took place at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Besides Einhorn and his legal team, Israeli investigators and Serbia’s top prosecutor, Branko Stamenkovic, who led the proceedings, attended.
As the Serbian prosecution is formally in charge of the legal process, only Serbian prosecutor Stamenkovic could have issued the “confidential” classification, a source in the Serbian judiciary told BIRN.
The classification suggests that something was said during the interrogation that could be considered relevant to Serbia’s national security, the source said.
BIRN/Haaretz in April published a joint investigation into how Einhorn worked to burnish the image of Serbian President Vucic and facilitate the flow of Serbian arms to Israel during its assault on Gaza.
Einhorn has been living in Belgrade, and has not returned to Israel since investigations against him were launched last year. As BIRN previously revealed, in April 2024 he founded a consultancy firm in Belgrade, Insight Partners, which earned $2.3 million that year, according to business registry reports.
The Israeli prosecution initially rejected requests for him to be questioned in Serbia, hoping either for his return to facilitate his arrest, or to initiate extradition proceedings with Serbia.
However, the investigators eventually went to Serbia to question Einhorn. A source familiar with the interrogation said Einhorn was questioned in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance.
Under those rules, the interrogation is conducted under the rules of the country issuing the request, in this case, Israel, but using the procedural rules of the country whose assistance has been requested, Serbia.