Petar Čolaković v. Slobodan Dukić
Prosecutor
Petar Čolaković
Official
2023 | Criminal procedure
Kovin Municipal Administration officer in charge of emergency situations, Petar Čolaković, who is also the husband of the head of the Municipal Administration, filed a private criminal complaint against Slobodan Dukić from the Pančevo.SiTi portal. The lawsuit alleges that Dukić committed a criminal offense under Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, i.e. unauthorized collection of personal data, in two cases (two separate texts). Čolaković complains to the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia that Dukić “unauthorizedly obtained, communicated to others and used for a purpose for which they were not intended” a photocopy of his work book and the answer of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Banja Luka to the request for information. Photocopies of the documents were published on March 20, 2023 on the website of the Pančevo.SiTi portal as illustrations of the text “Banja Luka reports: There is no evidence that Pero Čolaković, the husband of the head of the Municipal Administration, is a mechanical engineer”.The second case of allegedly unauthorized data collection, which Čolaković complained about, refers to a text dated April 3 of the same year when, along with the text “Municipal administration of Kovin: Pero Čolaković has a higher education and title of mechanical engineer”, the journalist published a photocopy of Čolaković’s diploma from the Higher Technical School in Bihać. The journalist states in the text that he found illogicalities regarding Čolaković’s personal income that does not match his education, which is why he researched and sought information about his education.
Basis of submission (according to which article of the law):
Article 146 of the Criminal CodeDamages/penalty requested:
According to the law, this criminal offense is punishable by a fine or a prison sentence of up to one year.
Defendant
Slobodan Dukić (Journalist)
Organization/Media
Pančevo.SiTi
Sector
Public information
Outcome - Unknown
Present characteristics
1. With the lawsuit that initiated the procedure, the plaintiff uses an imbalance of power, such as his financial advantage, political/social influence or authority as a power holder, in which way he puts pressure on the defendant – an actor participating in the public debate.
The plaintiff is an official of the municipal administration. His wife, who is named as a witness in the lawsuit, is also a local official. The connections and ties that they have as officials in the premises put the defendant in a subordinate position, because his social/political influence is significantly smaller in relation to the plaintiff.
2. The arguments presented by the prosecutor are partially or completely unfounded.
The data was collected in accordance with the law on free access to information, so the argument from the lawsuit is groundless. Also, this is a topic of public interest, and Čolaković as a public official must be exposed to a greater degree of criticism.
3. The lawsuit or legal remedy, that is, the request or proposal submitted by the plaintiff is disproportionate, excessive or unreasonable.
In accordance with the Criminal Code, a fine or even a prison sentence is provided for this crime, which would be an extremely inappropriate punishment for the journalist, but also for the freedom of the media.
4. Claims represent abuse of rights, i.e. distributive use of authority by public authorities against actors participating in public debate.
The plaintiff is a public official, and the goal of such a lawsuit is to intimidate the journalist and prevent further public debate about the acquired education of the official.
5. The lawsuit was filed against (i) an individual, i.e. a responsible media editor and/or a journalist and not (only) against an organization that organized the disputed activity, i.e. a media publisher and/or a journalist who published the news within a public debate.
A lawsuit has been filed against a local media correspondent, which increases the pressure and cost to which the journalist as an individual is exposed. The procedure is thus aimed at exhausting the material and immaterial resources of the individual.
6. The prosecutor did not initiate out-of-court mechanisms for resolving the disputed matter before filing the lawsuit, or the prosecutor, as a holder of public authority, did not issue a warning or admonishment to the defendant but immediately filed the lawsuit.
It is not known that the prosecutor initiated extrajudicial dispute resolution mechanisms, such as addressing the Press Council.
Additional materials
Nižu se SLAPP tužbe protiv novinara sajta Pančevo Si Ti Slobodana Dukića
