A preparatory hearing was held in the case of Veran Matić versus the Center for Social Stability.
A preliminary hearing was held before the Basic Court in Novi Sad in the case filed by the President of the Board of ANEM, Veran Matić, against the Center for Social Stability. Matić filed the lawsuit due to a violation of honor and reputation in the film "Evil Age 2," produced by this organization, in which he is labeled as a traitor and foreign mercenary.
Representatives of Matić have requested a temporary measure to prohibit the distribution and rerun of the film, regarding which the court has yet to make a decision.
The representative of the Center for Social Stability, a non-governmental organization already known for publishing videos that target journalists, university professors, and regime critics, stated to N1 that he believes there is no basis for the issuance of a temporary measure in this case.
Veran Matić emphasized that he does not know what to expect from the trial, considering that false information in recent weeks has generated considerable reactions that have been the subject of tabloid media shows, thus continuing his targeting, as he puts it.
"Thus, this targeting continues to expand, while on the other side, the media community and civil society are consolidated in defense against it, because this is not the first program; there are many that aim to destroy people," Matić stated to N1.
He confirmed that the court has also been provided with decisions from the Press Council, which indicate that the film "Evil Era 2" has violated a significant number of provisions of the Journalists' Code of Serbia.
"We have proven that both the film is being repeated and rerun and distributed across numerous portals. Today, we submitted the decisions of the Press Council, which established that the Journalists' Code has been violated on numerous items and sections of the code, and it is simply absolutely necessary to stop the distribution and reruns, or the infliction of damage," he stated.
Matić noted that the proposed measure is important due to the fact that potentially more colleagues will undergo a similar type of targeting.
"This is something that is absolutely unacceptable and represents an escalation of this atmosphere of violence in which journalists and media operate," Matić stated.
The opposing side, however, does not agree with anything requested by the prosecutor or his representatives. CZDS attorney Milan Plećaš hopes that the temporary measure will not be imposed.
"The temporary measure is not used for what is being requested in this proceeding. What is strange is that hearings are scheduled expeditiously here, while we know that when it comes to other trials, which I believe hold greater importance in this society, it takes several months to wait. Now we have decisions being made in five, six, seven, ten days. We do not agree with anything that the opposing side claims," Plećaš stated.
Source: N1
