Dejan Petar Zlatanović, the editor-in-chief of the independent news portal Srbin.info, was subjected to a rigorous, hour-long interrogation yesterday by the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP). The state investigation targets journalists who documented the alleged deployment of an acoustic weapon against civilian demonstrators last year.
Zlatanović’s interrogation marks an aggressive expansion of a sweeping judicial crackdown orchestrated by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office (VJT) in Belgrade. The state is attempting to legally reframe reports of police brutality into a coordinated conspiracy against Serbia’s top leadership.
The State Hierarchy’s Multi-Agency Mobilization
According to Zlatanović, the pressure intensified rapidly when intelligence operatives and state police simultaneously tracked him down.
Agents from the powerful Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) and investigators from the UKP initially targeted his parents’ home in Leštane on Monday. They subsequently issued urgent phone summonses commanding him to appear at the Palace of Serbia, the headquarters of the criminal police, on Tuesday, June 23.
The State Inquest Into the "Sound Cannon" Coverage:
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The Trigger --> Srbin.info was the only outlet to broadcast the live acoustic strike.
The Allegation--> VJT claims journalists & students "simulated" the weapon to provoke a coup.
The Target --> Dejan Petar Zlatanović interrogated at the Palace of Serbia.
The Mandate --> Detectives trace coordination with major independent networks (N1, Nova).
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Accusations of an “Organized Conspiracy” Against Vučić
During the interrogation, UKP detectives explicitly stated they were acting on a direct mandate from the VJT, which has launched a formal pre-investigative proceeding. The state prosecution asserts that the public reporting surrounding the sonic cannon is part of an organized conspiracy to overthrow the constitutional order and launch a coordinated assault on the state’s highest leadership, including:
- President Aleksandar Vučić
- Interior Minister Ivica Dačić
- Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin
Investigators heavily focused on how Srbin.info obtained statements from high-profile opposition politicians and analysts—such as Marinika Tepić, Dejan Mirović, and Miroslav Parović—who publicly blamed President Vučić for authorizing the acoustic deployment. Furthermore, police aggressively questioned Zlatanović on whether his live broadcast was intentionally synchronized with major regional independent networks like TV N1 or Nova.rs to maximize public outrage.
“The Footage is Publicly Available on YouTube”
Zlatanović firmly defended his outlet’s journalistic integrity during the interview, noting that his team was simply fulfilling its duty to inform the public. He pointed out the absurdity of treating a raw live stream as a manufactured conspiracy.
Dejan Zlatanović’s Statement to Investigators: ““I told the inspectors that the video is completely public and available on YouTube for the entire world to see. Anyone can look at the footage and clearly witness the exact moment of the acoustic impact and the physical reactions of the citizens on the street. We simply broadcast what happened.””
While Zlatanović noted that the UKP inspectors behaved professionally and emphasized that they were merely executing orders handed down by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, the interrogation has sent a chilling message through Serbia’s remaining independent media landscape. It closely mirrors the intense judicial targeting faced today by prominent human rights lawyer Aleksandar Olenik, signaling an coordinated state campaign to permanently silence dissent surrounding the March 15 protest.
