Journalist from KRIK: Darko Glišić's accusations are bizarre, but we take the threats and the monitoring of our movements seriously.

Instead of the prosecution and the Anti-Corruption Agency responding after KRIK published a new database on the assets of former and current ministers, those whose assets were reported are the ones speaking out.

Debunking KRIK's claims does not come easily to them, but it seems they are more interested in crudely insulting the editorial team and the journalist who worked on this database – Sofija Bogosavljev.

The KRIK editorial team contacted everyone included in the database for comments, but they declined, leading to an orchestrated attack once the investigations were published.

The first to attack KRIK were those whose assets were assessed as the most valuable.

First, Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić spoke out, accusing KRIK of putting a target on the foreheads of his sons, as they are allegedly the owners of the ethno-village that Gašić is building, whose value is estimated in the millions.

He reacted with a statement in which he did not specifically deny anything, but accused the journalists of spreading "fabrications."

“It is scandalous that some so-called investigative journalists are listing and assessing, very wrongly, the assets of my sons who are not public officials. They are very insidiously putting a target on their foreheads. Why? I have publicly called upon state authorities multiple times to verify the origin of my assets and to confiscate anything that has been illegally acquired. I repeat that I stand by my words,” Gašić stated in his announcement.

Gašić's statement, in relation to what Darko Glišić said on a pro-government television, sounds like a diplomatic protest note.

Glišić, commenting on KRIK's claims about his assets, without any evidence, labeled this editorial team as collaborators of the Kavač clan, one of the most notorious mafia organizations in the region.

He then continued with crude misogynistic insults directed at journalist Sofija Bogosavljev, calling her a voyeur. This was a response to KRIK’s claims that Glišić’s former romantic partner, while in a relationship with him, also acquired significant wealth in the form of real estate.

“In the end, they came to my friend Marija Ranđelović, whom they claim is my mistress. Perhaps Sofija Bogosavljev, who wrote this, speaks from personal experience and perceives it from her personal perspective,” Glišić said, insulting the KRIK journalist.

Sofija Bogosavljev: He insults us but refuses to accept the invitation for an interview

KRIK journalist Sofija Bogosavljev, one of the authors of the databases on politicians in power, who wrote the article about Darko Glišić, told Cenzolovka that Minister Glišić, who behaved unworthily of a minister during his brief appearance on Hepi, showed disrespect towards women and that he has a practice of not telling the truth.

“When the minister called me out by name and labeled me a voyeur, claiming that I had harassed someone, I was genuinely ashamed; that was my first reaction – although the shame is not mine. At the same time, I know that this is a consequence of the professional work KRIK does. Besides insulting my colleagues and me, he made false statements about how we conduct our journalistic work,” said Bogosavljev.

She also addressed Glišić's assertion that KRIK journalists harassed his former partner Marija Ranđelović.

She explains that she and KRIK's deputy editor Bojana Jovanović did indeed go to talk to Ranđelović. KRIK journalists always contact the person they are investigating and give them the opportunity to respond to all claims in their article.

“Ranđelović initially blocked our numbers, so we did not have the chance to ask her questions, which is strange for someone who has nothing to hide. We went to Kraljevo to present her with the facts we had. The conversation with Ranđelović was brief and concluded peacefully. We asked her about the apartments and explained that we had reached out to her precisely through the investigation of Darko Glišić, due to our work on the database of politicians' assets. We spoke in a fully occupied hall of the Post Savings Bank. Glišić made false claims that we had harassed someone, that we had asked intimate questions… I would never delve into someone's intimacy; that is an attempt at spinning and relativizing our story – that woman became wealthy while she was his partner, and that is what is important to investigate. She was a person connected to a public official,” noted the journalist.

Bogosavljev states that Glišić made false claims about his assets and those of his former partner – despite the evidence that KRIK published.

“In the end, even though Glišić's appearance was extremely bizarre and absurd as he calls us voyeurs and uses similar crude insults, his statements must be taken very seriously. He is a public official who issued certain threats and announced that he would publish some content about us in two weeks. He also admitted to tracking our movements when he talked about how we came to Kraljevo, where we sat, and so on… The Minister for Public Investments threatens journalists and insults them, and he refused the interview invitation we had previously extended to him. I think that says it all,” says Sofija Bogosavljev.

Bojana Jovanović: A classic spin; instead of answering questions, they attack.

KRIK's deputy editor Bojana Jovanović told Cenzolovka that they expected the attacks to follow, as this is the modus operandi of this government.

“Instead of answering journalists' questions and explaining to citizens where their multi-million-valued assets come from, they resort to attacks. A classic spin aimed at shifting the public's focus. However, such behavior often serves as confirmation that we are on the right track, meaning they are trying to intimidate us so that we abandon further investigations and hide something else we haven't managed to uncover this time,” Jovanović says.

However, she notes that all this represents significant pressure, as these are not normal circumstances under which journalists should operate, and not only are they not normal, but they can also become dangerous.

“Officials do not hesitate to insult and falsely accuse journalists, thereby creating a hostile environment. The false accusation that we are the 'Kavač mouthpiece,' which was made yesterday by Minister Darko Glišić, is a clear targeting and endangers the safety of all of us at KRIK as it falsely associates us with a criminal clan that is in conflict with other groups. This is just one of the problems we face; all of this is very stressful and exhausting, affecting our health, as well as our work, because we have to defend ourselves and deal with ourselves instead of investigating,” says Bojana Jovanović.

Source: Cenzolovka