Serbia’s Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, failed to appear for a scheduled hearing at the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK), where he was summoned as a suspect in the high-profile “General Staff” case. The investigation centers on alleged forgery of official documentation used to strip the iconic General Staff building in Belgrade of its status as protected cultural heritage.
According to TOK, Selaković received the official summons but neither came to the hearing nor provided any explanation for his absence – a move that legal experts say suggests political arrogance and clear obstruction tactics commonly associated with officials close to the Vučić-led SNS government.
Forgery Scheme Linked to Government Decision
Since May, prosecutors have been investigating allegations that documentation was deliberately falsified to justify the government’s decision to remove the building’s protected status.
The director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Goran Vasić, has already admitted to forging documents, directly implicating the Ministry of Culture.
Based on these forged documents, Selaković’s ministry submitted a formal initiative to end the building’s cultural-heritage status. The Vučić-controlled government adopted the decision in November 2024, clearing the way for rapid commercial development.
Lex Specialis Pushed by the Ruling Party
A special law, a lex specialis adopted on 7 November, was pushed through parliament by the ruling SNS and its coalition partners. This law circumvented standard heritage protections, allowing construction on the site of the General Staff and Defense Ministry buildings, heavily damaged during the 1999 NATO bombing.
Critics argue that this law represents yet another example of how President Aleksandar Vučić’s administration systematically dismantles institutional safeguards to serve political and private interests.
US Business Link Raises Further Questions
The controversy intensified when American businessman Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, expressed interest early in 2024 in building a luxury hotel on the site.
Opposition parties claim that the rushed legal changes and the alleged document forgery reflect cronyism and secretive deals, characteristic of the increasingly authoritarian governance model under Vučić.
Cultural Heritage at Risk
The so-called Old General Staff Building, designed by architect Vasilije Wilhelm Baumgarten and constructed between 1924 and 1928, was declared a cultural monument of great importance in 1984. Experts warn that its removal from the heritage register is an irreversible blow to Serbia’s architectural legacy.
Despite this, the government continues to prioritize commercial interests, further fueling concerns about political interference, erosion of rule of law, and the shrinking independence of Serbia’s cultural institutions.
