Police officers v. Stevan Dojčinović and Bojana Jovanović

Stevan Dojčinović, Bojana Jovanović (Editor)

KRIK

Finished in favor of KRIK (2023). Judge Jasmina Vukovljak Jovanović ruled that KRIK, by writing about the problems in the police Unit for Witness Protection, dealt with a topic of public interest, and that it complied with the rules of the journalistic profession. After the appeal of the prosecutors, the Court of Appeal confirmed the first-instance verdict.

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 prosecutors are the managers of the police Witness Protection Unit, and their position within the security services brings with them greater social influence and the possibility of exerting pressure on the defendants.

2. The arguments presented by the prosecutor are partially or completely unfounded.

The lawsuit was filed because of a text based on information from official, official notes compiled by individual members of the Witness Protection Unit.

3. The lawsuit or legal remedy, that is, the request or proposal submitted by the plaintiff is disproportionate, excessive or unreasonable.

A compensation claim of 750,000 dinars was requested. The request is excessive and is aimed at discouraging journalists to deal with this topic.

4. 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.

The defendants are the media, the deputy editor and the responsible editor.

5. 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.

Initiating a lawsuit without first trying to resolve the disputed issue through out-of-court mechanisms puts the defendants in a situation where they are unprepared and taken aback by the received lawsuit.

6. Due to the same event in the framework of the public debate, several lawsuits were filed against the same defendant on different grounds.

The prosecutors filed another lawsuit against the same defendants, regarding the text they published about this lawsuit. Multiple lawsuits are an indication of coordinated pressure on reporting in the public interest.