Serbia: MFRR condemns baseless smear campaign aimed at KRIK
Cenzolovka 13.03.2021
The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in condemning the smear campaign aimed at the Network for Investigation of Crime and Corruption (KRIK) by pro-government media outlets which propagated the baseless and dangerous claim that KRIK has a ‘secret deal’ with Veljko Belivuk, a recently arrested leader of an organised crime group.
On 9th and 10th March, a number of pro-Government media outlets alleged that KRIK is coordinating with Belivuk to monitor or threaten the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić. Tabloid newspapers, including The Serbian Telegraph, Kurir and Alo published front-page articles that KRIK is Belivuk’s private media. Alo stated in its coverage, that KRIK ‘served on the one hand as a megaphone of the criminal clan of Veljko Belivuk, and on the other as an instrument of