VJT threatens KRIK with a monetary fine if it does not submit the recording of the conversation between Lučić and Miler.
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade has once again requested that KRIK submit the recording of the conversation between the director of Telekom Srbija, Vladimir Lučić, and the new CEO of United Group, Sten Miller, in which they discuss undermining the media operating under United Media, including N1, as reported by OCCRP.
Prosecutors have warned that the editorial team will face financial penalties if it does not comply with the request, reports the investigative network OCCRP.
“I warn you that, according to (...) the Criminal Procedure Code, you may be fined up to 150,000 dinars, and if you continue to refuse to provide the requested information, you may be fined again in the same amount,” wrote prosecutor Aleksandar Milošević in a letter sent to KRIK this week.
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, where Milošević works, is conducting an investigation that KRIK suspects aims to identify the source of a recording published by KRIK and the OCCRP network two months ago.
In its latest letter to KRIK, the prosecutor's office claims that the recording is needed for forensic examination and insists that it is not asking the editorial team to reveal its source, but only to provide the recording itself — either the original, its "closest copy," or the device on which it was recorded. The letter again threatens journalists with financial penalties if they do not comply with the request.
This new demand follows KRIK's earlier response in mid-October, when the editorial team explained that submitting the material would jeopardize the legally protected right of journalists to protect their sources. KRIK also noted that the recording is already publicly available on its YouTube channel.
KRIK editor Stevan Dojčinović then stated that the true goal of the prosecutor's office is not to verify the recording but to uncover the source that provided it, rather than to investigate possible criminal offenses arising from the conversation between Miler and Lučić.
Neither Lučić nor Miler disputed the authenticity of the recording, and United Group confirmed that the conversation indeed took place.
Despite this, the prosecutor's office continues to demand that KRIK submit the material in order to "verify its authenticity." It claims to be acting on a criminal complaint filed by United Group RS — now led by Vladica Tintor — against several unidentified individuals.
In the recording, which KRIK and the OCCRP network published at the end of August 2024, Lučić — a close associate of President Aleksandar Vučić — can be heard saying that Vučić demanded the dismissal of Aleksandra Subotić, the director of United Media, which operates N1, Nova, Danas, and Radar.
In the conversation, Miler states that he cannot immediately dismiss Subotić, but he says he must "make that company very small in Serbia."
The story was later mentioned in a European Parliament resolution on Serbia as evidence of growing pressure on independent media.
“It appears that the Serbian government is negotiating with the owners of United Media with the aim of 'weakening' the independent media operating under its umbrella. We warn that, if confirmed, this would represent a serious attack on the already endangered media pluralism in Serbia,” states the EP Resolution.
Source: N1
