Ljubomir Stefanović, the editor-in-chief of the YouTube channel “Slavija Info,” (https://www.youtube.com/@SLAVIJAINFO) claims that on 11 October 2024 he was allegedly kidnapped by members of the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency (Bezbednosno Informativna Agencija – BIA). That morning, nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he was heading to his studio for scheduled interviews. On his way, he noticed vehicles and individuals he believed were allegedly BIA agents. He claimed to have been under surveillance by the agency for years.
On Milovan Šaranović Street in Belgrade, Serbia, a car blocked his way, and several men exited a van. One of them allegedly identified himself as a BIA officer and asked Stefanović to leave his vehicle. Without resistance, Stefanović entered the van, while another agent took the wheel of his car. Without explaining where they were going, they drove him to the Voždovac police station in Belgrade, Serbia. During the ride, Stefanović feared for his life, thinking he might be killed, as he was aware of the tactics used by criminals in Serbia, who kidnapped people with fake police credentials. However, he felt some relief when he realized that this were real state officials and they were taking him to the station.
Allegedly, at the station, his phone and keys were confiscated, and he was placed in an office where other agents were waiting. When he asked why he was brought in, they told him he wasn’t under arrest but refused to let him contact a lawyer. The situation felt more like intimidation than a formal interrogation.
The BIA agents allegedly threatened him with a five-year prison sentence for insulting President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić in his shows. Stefanović replied that they were free to file a criminal complaint but demanded that they precisely state where and when he had made these remarks. When the agents saw that he wasn’t intimidated by their threats, they allegedly began attacking him emotionally, telling him to think about his son. Stefanović admitted that this angered him, but he didn’t cave in.
According to Stefanović situation worsened when the agents allegedly threatened to fabricate a scandal involving a transvestite and spread it in the media. Stefanović told them they were free to bring anyone they wanted. After that, they told him he was free to go but warned him not to talk about what had happened. Stefanović refused to stay silent and announced he would speak out about everything.
Upon leaving the station, he wasn’t given any document or evidence that he had been detained, and no official statements were taken. According to him, the entire incident felt like a violation of the law. Stefanović claimed he had allegedly been under surveillance for five years, including being followed, wiretapped, and searched at borders. He stated that he had been detained for over 200 hours at borders, often with his child.
If Stefanović’s account is accurate, this incident could represent a serious breach of the law, raising many questions about BIA’s practices and how they treat government critics.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) will be closely monitoring the ongoing case. SEEMO is committed to ensuring that the rights of journalists are upheld and that any threats to their safety and freedom of expression are addressed.
SEEMO is asking the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the state Intelligent Service BIA to inform urgently the public about this case. Additional, the Parliament of Serbia must start an urgent parliamentarian investigation of this case. It is important to have transparent and clear information from state institutions in Serbia connected to the claims made by Stefanović.
SEEMO reminds that in the last period there were several cases of mistreatment of foreigners at the border crossings entering Serbia by representatives of the police / BIA, after which the Serbian president Vucic condemned this practice of the Serbian police. Additionally, we remind you of the case of the Belgian journalist Philippe Bertinchamps, a correspondent for various French-language media, who after ten years of residence in Serbia, the Security and Information Agency (BIA) allegedly tried to deport in 2018, declaring him, without clear reasoning, a threat to the security and only after an international reaction, including from SEEMO, the Serbian police hand him a decision approving his visa. SEEMO reminds of several well known cases of pressure on journalists in Serbia by the intelligence services since 1990, including the case of Dušan Reljić, who in 1993, as the editor of the foreign policy section of the Vreme magazine, was kidnapped in front of his apartment by three men who later introduced themselves as members of the counterintelligence service. Reljić was questioned for 38 hours about his conversations with foreign journalists, diplomats and scientists. In the past years several journalists in Serbia claimed that their lives were made difficult by the Serbian intelligent service, whether they were being followed or contacted directly.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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