The KRIK investigative news portal said on Wednesday that it was asked by the Higher Prosecution in Belgrade for a copy of the recording of a conversation between United Group CEO Stan Miller and Telekom Serbia CEO Vladimir Lucic.
The recording of their phone conversation was released in August by both KRIK and the ORCCP investigative network. Miller and Lucic discussed changes in N1 and Nova’s parent company United Media allegedly at the request of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The prosecution request said that they need the recording as part of the investigation into the criminal charges filed by United Group. “We need you to hand over the original or closest copy of the audio recording or if possible the device used to record the conversation … in order to authenticate it,” the prosecution request said.
KRIK editor Stevan Dojcinovic believes the prosecutors want to discover the source of the recording. “Instead of focusing on the content of the recorded conversation and investigate whether any crime was committed in the agreement between Miller and Lucic to dismiss the CEO of a Serbian media company and exert pressure on the media, they want the source of the recording to discover and punish the whistleblower. The wording of the request shows that. This is not strange in Serbia since the prosecution operates in support of the president,” Dojcinovic said. He recalled that under Serbian laws journalists are not obliged to reveal their sources.
Source: N1
