Court: The President of the Municipality of Dimitrovgrad, Vladica Dimitrov, has harmed the honor and reputation of journalist Sergej Ivanov with statements made on television.
The Basic Court in Dimitrovgrad, in its first-instance (non-enforceable) judgment, ruled that the president of the municipality of Dimitrovgrad, Vladica Dimitrov, must pay 30,000 dinars to Sergej Ivanov as compensation for non-material damage due to injury to honor and reputation, resulting from statements he made on Caribrod Television in early 2025.
The court partially upheld the claim made by Ivanov, who sought compensation due to allegations that he attempted to “buy” members of the ruling majority in the Dimitrovgrad Municipal Assembly with money or other benefits.
The dispute was initiated after Vladica Dimitrov appeared on the program "Aktuelno" on Televizija Caribrod on February 5, 2025, when he stated that the opposition, including Sergej Ivanov, was contacting members of the ruling majority and offering them “money, cash, and everything” to switch sides. When asked by the host of the show whether he stood behind such accusations, Dimitrov responded: “Of course I do. Let me tell you something, I stand by it and they will be, of course, this… accused, because that is how it is. These people will not sell out otherwise.”
Sergej Ivanov subsequently provided a denial to Televizija Caribrod, which was published on February 13, but Dimitrov reiterated in another program on the same television channel that he maintained his claims and indicated that he expected potential lawsuits.
During the court proceedings, Dimitrov argued that his statements were made in the context of a political conflict between the authorities and opposition actors in Dimitrovgrad and should be viewed as part of political struggle. He stated that he relied on information obtained from councilor Ljubiša Takov shortly before the show, during a meeting of the municipal board of the Serbian Progressive Party.
However, Ljubiša Takov testified in court that Ivanov did not offer him money or any specific benefit. He indicated that any conversation was brief and informal and that he did not perceive it as an attempt to purchase a council mandate, nor as blackmail or bribery. On the other hand, Ivanov stated that no meeting or discussion about politics with witness Takov ever took place.
The second witness in the proceedings, Slavoljub Manoilov, who is also the deputy president of the Dimitrovgrad Municipal Assembly, confirmed that he attended a meeting where Takov spoke about the encounter but stated that he had no direct knowledge of the actual conversation between Ivanov and Takov. According to him, Takov said at the time that Ivanov had asked him if he wanted to switch to the opposition side, but he did not mention that money was offered to him.
The court assessed that Manoilov's testimony was indirect evidence, as it was based on what he heard from Takov, not on personal knowledge of the event. This testimony, as noted in the ruling, does not confirm that Ivanov offered money or other illegal benefits.
The court concluded that the claim that Ivanov offered money or other benefits to the councilors was not proven. The ruling states that “the accusation of offering money or other benefits to councilors is not a value judgment or political assessment, but a factual assertion of unlawful behavior.”
The court found that Dimitrov made such a claim as a fact, without verification, even though it was based solely on the indirect knowledge of one individual. Therefore, it was stated that the boundary of permissible political criticism had been exceeded.
The ruling also emphasizes that freedom of expression in political life is protected but does not encompass the making of unverified accusations that label another person as a perpetrator of a criminal offense.
In determining the amount of compensation, the court considered the severity of the accusation, the fact that it was made in a television program followed by the local community, as well as Dimitrov's status as a public official.
During the proceedings, Ivanov emphasized that his primary goal is not financial satisfaction but the “establishment of the truth,” and that any amount awarded to him will be intended for “charitable purposes.”
In addition to the awarded compensation of 30,000 dinars, Dimitrov is obligated to reimburse Ivanov for legal costs amounting to 109,300 dinars.
An appeal against this ruling is allowed to the Higher Court in Pirot.
Considering that Sergej Ivanov is a long-time journalist and collaborator with FAR, the team from this media house followed the course of the trial.
**Source: [FAR](https://far.rs/sr/2026/03/12/sud-predsednik-opstine-dimitrovgrad-vladica-dimitrov-povredio-cast-i-ugled-novinara-sergeja-ivanova-izjavama-na-televiziji/)**
