Lawyer Aleksandar Olenik has accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić of attempting to undermine the work of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK) by acting through the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office (VJT) and its head, Nenad Stefanović, in connection with the alleged plan to shut down the independent television stations N1 and Nova.
Olenik was reacting to the fact that two parallel legal proceedings are currently underway regarding the recorded conversation between Sten Miller and Vladimir Lučić. One case is being handled by TOK, which is examining the content of the recording itself, while the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office is pressuring investigative journalists from KRIK to hand over the original audio, claiming that the recording published by the media was manipulated or edited.
“This is an attempt by Aleksandar Vučić, through the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office and Stefanović, to take over and destroy the TOK case that exposed a corrupt plan to shut down N1 and Nova,” Olenik said in a statement.
He added that Vučić cannot go into elections while independent and objective media exist, and is therefore continuing the plan allegedly discussed in the Lučić–Miller conversation.
“TOK cannot be shut down because of the European Union, so the only instrument left is the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Olenik said.
Earlier, the OCCRP investigative network published an audio recording of a conversation between Miller and Lučić, in which they allegedly discuss the removal of United Media CEO Aleksandra Subotić and the closure of media outlets within United Media, claiming these actions were requested by President Vučić.
At the same time, pressure on the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime continues over other sensitive cases, including the General Staff building and the railway station canopy collapse. The European Commission has stated that it is closely monitoring developments in Serbia’s judiciary, stressing that any potential changes to the prosecution system must strengthen, not weaken, judicial independence.
