The trial against KRIK has begun in the third lawsuit filed by Jelena Tanasković: she is personally suing the former journalist.

Jelena Tanasković, at the end of January 2025, when two lawsuits had already been filed against the journalists of KRIK based on her claims, decided to file another lawsuit. This one was somewhat different as Tanasković filed it personally against the now former KRIK journalist, Sofija Parojčić, as a private lawsuit in a small claims dispute.

Unlike the first two lawsuits she filed due to articles by KRIK, Tanasković filed this lawsuit because of a video published on our social media channels. In it, Parojčić spoke about how her first investigative story on Tanasković led her to court, recalling what she had uncovered in the story.

Tanasković described this video, which aims to explain to the public the lawsuits that journalists at KRIK face due to their work, as full of falsehoods, claiming that the then KRIK journalist "fabricated a journalistic sensation" that does not correspond to the truth.

In the lawsuit, Tanasković also states that the journalist referred to her lawsuit against KRIK as a SLAPP lawsuit in order to portray her as an "immoral and criminal politician evading legal accountability."

In addition to damages of 333,333 dinars, Tanasković demands that Parojčić publish the verdict on KRIK within eight days of the ruling.

Although she filed the lawsuit nearly two years ago, it was only recently accepted by the court, which scheduled the first hearing — held today.

At the hearing, Tanasković's lawyer, Dragoslav Glogonjac, proposed that the court watch the video and listen to Tanasković regarding the emotional distress she claims to have suffered.

Attorney Kruna Savović, representing Sofija Parojčić, reiterated that this is a SLAPP lawsuit. She suggested that the court review the documents from the two proceedings that Tanasković is conducting against KRIK before the Higher Court in Belgrade and hear Parojčić.

Judge Aleksandra Točanac accepted the proposals from both sides.

The next hearing is scheduled for early February 2027, when Tanasković and Parojčić are expected to be heard.

Third lawsuit in two years

Tanasković first sued KRIK at the end of December 2024.

A month earlier, we published a story about a criminal complaint filed against her by the company "Prvi faktor," which prompted Tanasković to file a lawsuit. The firm claimed in the complaint that Tanasković, a former director of the company, caused it damages of 200 million dinars. The prosecution, as we discovered, dismissed the complaint after a police report signed by Ninoslav Cmolić — the husband of Irena Vujović, who was then the Minister of Environmental Protection and a long-time friend and former boss of Tanasković.

After the lawsuit arrived at the editorial office, we published news about it. Tanasković then sued KRIK for that news as well. She filed the second lawsuit from detention, where she was held as a suspect in the collapse of a canopy in Novi Sad that resulted in 15 fatalities.

In both lawsuits, she sought one million dinars each for alleged defamation and violation of the presumption of innocence. She attributed claims to KRIK that do not exist in the articles, and in one of the lawsuits, her lawyer asserted that the article portrays Tanasković as a criminal due to the name of the editorial office.

"Considering the description of the goals and the very name of the media publisher KRIK, and the meaning of the name KRIK — crime and corruption, it is clear that this contested article portrays the plaintiff as a criminal involved in corruption," he stated at the time.

The international organization fighting against SLAPP, the CASE coalition, labeled Tanasković's lawsuits as a classic SLAPP. Because of them, the former minister even made it to the shortlist for the notorious "SLAPP Politician of the Year" award, given by this organization to individuals who frequently use such lawsuits to exert pressure on journalists and attempt to silence them.

Nevertheless, she did not stop and filed a third lawsuit.

The frequent filing of lawsuits is one of the main characteristics of SLAPP, which serve as pressure and intimidation tactics against journalists to prevent them from writing about certain topics.

Tanasković could have opted not to file a new, third lawsuit, but rather amend or modify her previous lawsuit against Parojčić — which KRIK pointed out in its response to the lawsuit submitted to the court. However, she chose to file a new lawsuit, thereby subjecting the journalist to additional costs and further emotional, financial, and other pressures.

Tanasković is not the only one who has sued KRIK. Our editorial office has been the target of SLAPP lawsuits for years, and there are currently 14 proceedings ongoing against it.

Three lawsuits against KRIK have been filed by Predrag Koluvija, accused in the "Jovanjica" case, Nikola Petrović, godfather of Aleksandar Vučić, and Dušanka Đorđević, a judge at the Appellate Court in Belgrade. Judge Đorđević filed criminal complaints against KRIK journalists seeking imprisonment and a ban on practicing journalism. Read more about it here.

Author: Božidar Milovac
Source: Krik