A Vote for Compromise

Radoslav Arsenijevic, a city councilor from the SPO appealed to the new press law when he demanded the prosecution of ‘Svetlost plc.’, its editor Miroslav Ciric and director Pavle Cirovic. The writ (issued on 6 November at 12:00pm) states that they ‘abused the freedom of information by publishing untruths’. The ‘untruths’ in question appeared in a text “A slap on the wrist and - the pocket” which dealt with fraudulent activities within public companies in Kragujevac. In the text, the director of a public company for sport and recreation, Slavica Saveljic, claimed that an employee of the company, Radoslav Arsenijevic, misused the customers’ checks and used them to pay his own electricity bills. The allegation was supported by company records. Arsenijevic, and his lawyer Dusko Pacariz, who is also a city councilor and former member of SPO, issued the writ because the newspaper published a photo ‘without permission’ which was followed by a caption which said: ‘Abuse of public office-councilor Radoslav Arsenijevic’.

Court officials served the writ to the editor of ‘Nezavisna Svetlost’ some time before 6 p.m., while the hearing was arranged for 9 p.m. Just before the hearing, around 200 citizens of Kragujevac and the Mayor Veroljub Stevanovic joined the employees of ‘Svetlost’, their twelve lawyers and a large number of reporters in the corridors of the City Council, which is where the courtroom is situated.

All those present tried to fit in the courtroom which usually holds about four people. The magistrate, Milovan Stevanovic, tried to maintain order with the words: ‘Let’s not have a theatrical performance here...’; ‘Please step back, and stop making all that noise’... Legal representatives of ‘Nezavisna Svetlost’ requested a replacement for Magistrate Stevanovic, arguing that he failed to ensure basic working conditions. The hearing was transferred to the largest room in the building and postponed until 11pm. Soon after, four plain clothes policemen entered the building, and were soon joined by two other colleagues. One of them told reporters that his superior officer ‘got him out of bed’ and told him to ensure that the evening session of the court passes in peace. The 11 p.m. hearing also didn’t take place, because once again not even a third of those present could fit into the hall. Slavica Tomic, one of the court officials tried to maintain order this time, while Magistrate Stevanovic was assisted by his older and more experienced colleague Mira Jeftic. Lawyers representing ‘Nezavisna Svetlost’ proposed for the hearing to be postponed until 8 am on Saturday when it could be held in a larger hall, which the mayor would provide. Magistrate Stevanovic warned the accused that they are required to provide evidence that the allegations made in the text were true before the end of the hearing (Saturday, 12 p.m.), and said ‘A distinguishing feature of this piece of legislation is that the burden of proof lies with the accused’. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Dusko Pacariz offered a settlement: Arsenijevic will drop the case providing the editor offers an apology. Around 4 a.m. on Saturday, the journalists voted against the apology. At the time it still seemed likely that they might be able to support the allegations with statements from witnesses and company records. Fifteen minutes before the beginning of the hearing, the lawyers of ‘Nezavisna Svetlost’ warned that the caption ‘Abuse of public office’ is legally impossible to prove, that it seems that the verdict had already been decided, and that a fine of around 750,000 dinars is imminent. All this would mean the closure of the newspaper, so the editors agreed to publish a correction regarding the caption. On Monday (9 November) the Chief editor Miroslav Jovanovic and his deputy Ankica Vesic offered their resignation, which was rejected by journalists. The current satirical issue of ‘Svetlost’ is in preparation. Reactions to the decision by ‘Nezavisna Svetlost’ to compromise for the sake of its own survival are different, ranging from the belief that what was required was wisdom not courage, to the view, held by the local officials of the Democratic Party, that the decision is ‘compromising’. Another question which is frequently asked in Kragujevac is why the new press law was used by a local official from SPO, when SPO’s MPs abandoned the vote on the new legislation, in protest against the repressive media law. So far, neither the local SPO officials not the party’s head office has said a single word on the matter.