A slap from the lignite mine.
A journalist, Sergej Ivanov, received a threatening phone call from an unknown person: "...those who write lies about me, something may happen to them...". The threat arrived after he published a post on his Facebook profile regarding the possible opening of a lignite mine in the vicinity of Dimitrovgrad, just before a public discussion on the Draft Detailed Regulatory Plan for the "Mazgoš" deposit was scheduled to take place. The case has been reported to the competent prosecutor's office, and there has been a significant reaction from the professional community.
Due to their investigative work, journalists from the FAR portal are targets of various types of pressure. In the report “Digital Prison - Surveillance and Repression of Civil Society in Serbia” by the international organization Amnesty International, concrete evidence was presented that journalist Slaviša Milanov had spy software, Novi Spy, installed on his device while he was at the Ministry of Interior. (More about the report in Monitoring the Media Scene in the Republic of Serbia for December 2024). Milanov reported the case to the competent prosecutor's office in March of last year; however, he has not yet been called in to provide a statement. According to information received from the prosecutor's office, the investigation into the allegations in the criminal complaint is ongoing.
In addition to this, the editorial team of the FAR portal has also been affected by two hacking attacks that occurred in quick succession.
Due to the pressures they are facing, journalists from the FAR editorial team have received assistance from the international network of journalists, Forbidden Stories, with the aim of investigating the suspicious activities of the mayor of Dimitrovgrad. The goal, as stated in their joint investigative piece, is to "combine forces to investigate questionable contracts for public works financed with public funds."
Source: Public Service
1.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
