Milan Jovanović: Today it is worse for journalists than when they burned down my house. I escaped death, and you young people should be careful.

It has been seven years since December 12, 2018, when the house of journalist Milan Jovanović from the Žig info portal in Grocka was set on fire in Vrčin. The crime was orchestrated by the then president of the Grocka municipality and official of the Serbian Progressive Party, Dragoljub Simonović. The house was set ablaze in the middle of the night while he was asleep. He and his wife Jela Deljanin survived only thanks to her composure and bravery, managing to escape from the house where the flames were spreading. Jovanović was dazed from the smoke and under the influence of medication, but his wife managed to pull him outside.

The fire severely damaged the house, while the garage and car were destroyed.

In April 2024, Dragoljub Simonović was convicted to four years in prison. The immediate perpetrators were sentenced: Aleksandar Marinković to four years, Vladimir Mihajlović to three years, and Igor Novaković to two and a half years in prison.

However, for Jovanović, this process is still not over, as he has yet to collect the material and non-material damages he suffered.

With health permanently compromised, largely due to the effects of smoke inhalation and the trauma experienced by the Jovanović couple, the journalist is still navigating the court system.

Jovanović told Cenzolovka that the problem with our judicial system is that proceedings last for several years, while they could be concluded in two or three hearings.

“The perpetrators have been convicted. The ruling for damages could have been made alongside their judgment. All of this could have been resolved, rather than dragging on for seven years. For seven years, I have been shuttling from courtroom to courtroom, from doctor to doctor, thanks to them,” said Jovanović.

Delaying the process to avoid paying for the renovation of the house they burned

He fears that it will never come to an end, that he will not witness it.

“My lawyer Ana Matić has filed a lawsuit for compensation for material damages. And imagine their audacity and shamelessness – they are appealing that lawsuit, claiming it is unfounded because I renovated the house, so, according to them, I no longer need any material compensation for what they did. Look how much time has passed, and the Appellate Court still hasn’t dismissed their appeal as unfounded, because it is indeed unfounded,” Jovanović stated.

Why has the Appellate Court not made any decision for so long? Is it due to judicial inefficiency or is someone exerting pressure on the court? Jovanović claims to have knowledge of possible influence on the court through a relative of one of the accused.

______________________________________________________________________

ABSURD REASONS FOR DELAY: ZABELA DID NOT BRING SIMONOVIĆ IN FOR QUESTIONING

Jovanović's lawyer Ana Matić told Cenzolovka that two lawsuits are currently ongoing: one for compensation for material damages and the other for non-material damages.

“The lawsuit for material damages was suspended until the criminal proceedings were completed. After the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, we filed a request for continuation, and the Higher Court in Belgrade issued a ruling for continuation. The defendants appealed this ruling. The case has been pending in the Appellate Court in Belgrade since May for a decision on this nonsensical appeal. We have submitted a request for urgency, and the court informed us that we are not considered an urgent case, but they will keep it in mind,” said Matić.

The lawsuit for non-material damages is active before the Second Basic Court. Only Novaković has assets registered in his name, and a temporary measure has been issued prohibiting him from disposing of them. He has appealed this decision. The case will proceed to the Higher Court for a decision on the appeal. After that, there will be an expert assessment, followed by a ruling,” the lawyer explained.

She stated that these lawsuits are taking a long time for absurd reasons.

“There isn’t a particularly clever answer as to why everything is taking so long. For instance, just the other day it was postponed because Zabela did not bring Simonović in for questioning,” Matić said.

______________________________________________________________________

“I have information that they are influencing the proceedings to prolong them as much as possible. They are aware of my age and my wife’s age, and that we are ill because of them. My wife has not slept at night for seven years nor dares to fall asleep out of fear. I am constantly being treated because my lungs have been significantly damaged and I breathe with the help of oxygen. They are aware that we won’t live much longer, and their goal is for this court proceeding to last as long as possible so that they can avoid compensating for material damages,” Jovanović said.

He points out that the safety of journalists today is much more endangered than it was seven years ago when his house was burned.

“I can tell you that it is significantly, significantly harder now than it was seven years ago because the attacks are now much more open. Seven years ago, they at least hesitated a bit, and there wasn’t as much public targeting of journalists. This is now an open hunt on journalists, so may God help you, the younger generation. I escaped death, but you young ones should be careful. Because this is no longer about politics; this is not politics, this is organized crime. I did, however, say this seven years ago if you remember my story, that this is not the government, this is not a party, this is the mafia. Crime has seeped into every pore of society, and citizens will have a huge problem freeing themselves from this mafia,” Jovanović stated.

The only lawsuit that Jovanović won in his favor is the one he filed against Simonović’s lawyer Ivica Vuković for defamation. The lawyer lied in a media statement, accusing Jovanović of shooting at the perpetrators when they set his house on fire.

The statement for which the lawyer was convicted was made in 2020 in front of the court building for Television N1. Vuković stated at that time:

“Specifically, the injured party Jovanović’s narrative that shots were fired at him is being persistently repeated, even though it has been almost 100% established that he is the one who fired at the person who committed the arson, as confirmed by the expert based on the location of the shell casings…”

The court ordered Vuković to pay Milan Jovanović 100,000 dinars in compensation for non-material damages, as well as to cover 298,600 dinars for the costs of the civil proceedings.

Jovanović stated that he sued Vuković because the lawyer did not want to publicly apologize for that falsehood.

“I can understand that a lawyer lies in court because that is his job. I listened very carefully to Mr. Vuković’s lies in the courtroom, assuming he was a paid liar. But I was appalled when he went outside the courtroom and continued to repeat those lies in a media statement. At the next hearing, I asked him why he was doing that, and he replied that he was misled by a colleague, the lawyer defending Marinković. I told him that I expected a public apology from him because he was aware he had lied. Do you know what Mr. Vuković said to me then? ‘I’m sorry, Milan, but if I publicly apologize to you, Simonović will revoke my power of attorney, and I will lose a huge amount of money. I have no intention of doing that.’ Those are his words. Can you imagine that audacity?” Jovanović said.

Source: Cenzolovka