Jelena Tanasković, a former minister and one of the suspects in the case of the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad when 15 people died, sued KRIK again, the journalists of this media reported. This is the second lawsuit that Tanasković filed against KRIK and the third since the end of December last year when Predrag Koluvija sued this media for the third time.
As KRIK announced, Tanasković filed a lawsuit this time because of the news about the first lawsuit in which, as she claims, she was presented as a “criminal engaged in corruption.” Although she could have expanded the original lawsuit, she chose to file a new one, thereby contributing to the flooding of this newsroom with lawsuits, which is precisely one of the hallmarks of SLAPP. As before, he is asking for one million dinars in damages.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns the pressure on the KRIK editorial office by people close to the authorities. A total of 19 lawsuits against KRIK give the impression that it is a matter of coordination and agreement that KRIK will be sued for every text it publishes, whether it is a trial report, research, or even ordinary news, which shows a clear intention of the authorities to shut down this media.
IJAS has repeatedly pointed out that the judicial system of Serbia does not recognize SLAPP lawsuits and that the court needs to be especially careful in these cases.
That is why we reiterate that the Council of Europe has defined criteria for recognizing SLAPP, and one of them is the abuse of legal process with the aim of preventing, prohibiting, limiting or punishing free expression on matters of public interest and the exercise of rights related to public participation.
That this is a lawsuit with SLAPP characteristics is indicated by disproportionately large compensation claims that increase the costs of the procedure, partially or completely unfounded arguments and multiple coordinated legal actions of one or more related parties based on the same set of facts or in connection with similar matters.
That’s why we call on judges who act in lawsuits against KRIK journalists to take into account the recommendations of the Council of Europe when making decisions and protect the public’s interest in being informed.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS),
February 6th, 2025
