List Today he came into possession of the indictment against the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, as well as Slavica Jelača, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Culture in the Government, Goran Vasić, Acting Director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, and Aleksandar Ivanović, Acting Director Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade. In the indictment, the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime lists in detail the actions taken by Selaković and three other defendants in order, according to the prosecution, to illegally deprive the General Staff building of its cultural property status.
The defendants are charged with criminal acts of falsification of documents and abuse of official position.
In the indictment, the prosecution demands that Selaković be sentenced to three years in prison, Jelača to two and a half years, Vasić to three years and Ivanović to one and a half days in prison.
TOK demands three years in prison for Selaković
The text states that the TOK in the indictment states that in the period from the second half of May, until the end of November 2024, in Belgrade, the defendants, aware of their act, knowing that it was prohibited, and whose execution they wanted, in the capacity of officials, Nikola Selaković, Slavica Jelača, Goran Vasić vd and Aleksandar Ivanović, by exceeding the limits of their official powers, caused damage to the cultural heritage of the Republic of Serbia, even though, based on several laws and legal acts, they were obliged to protect it.
For Selaković, it is claimed that he authenticated official documents with false content with his signature and used them in the service as if they were true, while Jelača and Vasić created official documents with false content, entered false information into them and did not enter important information.
The two of them then used them in their service as if they were true, whereby Jelača knowingly assisted Ivanović in the commission of the criminal offense by creating the conditions for the commission of the criminal offense by calling Vasić and Ivanović to the Ministry of Culture on July 10, 2024, and in the presence of Jelača ordered them to submit documents to the ministry on the same day, which they would title as the Proposal for a Decision on the Termination of the General Staff Buildings as a Cultural Property.
The intention was for them to be used for the unauthorized preparation of the proposed Government Decisions on the cessation of the status of cultural property of the General Staff buildings and the Proposal of Government Decisions on the amendment of the Decision on determining the area along Kneza Miloša Street in Belgrade for a spatial cultural-historical unit of which the General Staff buildings are an integral part, even though everyone knew that the legal requirements for this were not met.
That is why the previous director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Dubravka Đukanović, refused to make such a proposal and sent it to the Government through the Ministry of Culture. The Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments is exclusively competent to prepare the proposal for a decision on the termination of the status of a cultural asset and send it to the Government with an explanation through the Ministry of Culture.
The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade does not have such authority, which Selaković and Jelača were repeatedly warned about by Ivanović, so Vasić, acting on Selaković's order, intended for the Government of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments to draw up an act with untrue content entitled: "INITIATIVE: Proposal for making a decision on the termination of the status of cultural property" to the buildings of the General Staff of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro and the Ministry of Defense in Belgrade.
In this way, it was untruthfully shown that the said Act was filed in the registry office of the Republic Institute under the institute number 3-132/2024, even though he was aware that under that number, on the same day, a case was previously formed regarding the "application for solving the housing issue" which was submitted by Vasić himself, even though he knew that he did not have the appropriate professional knowledge, and which he drew up himself, without the knowledge and participation of the conservator and other experts of the Institute, with untrue content and personally handed over to Jelača.
On the same day, also acting on the order of Selaković, Ivanovic also drew up a document entitled: "Proposal for making a decision on the termination of the status of cultural property of the General Staff buildings" and submitted it to Jelača, while he was aware that this document would be used for the unauthorized drafting of a reasoned Proposal for the Government's decision on the termination of the status of cultural property of the General Staff buildings, and that according to the law, such a document could only be submitted to the Republic Institute for the Protection of Monuments of Culture, which is exclusively competent to prepare the proposal for a decision on the termination of the status of cultural property with an explanation.
In the further text of the indictment, it is stated that Slavica Jelača, Goran Vasić and Aleksandar Ivanović created a series of illegal and falsified documents, on the basis of which the Government of Serbia made a decision to deprive the General Staff building of its status as a cultural asset.
However, the key thing is that the aforementioned did everything on the orders of Selaković, who, like them, was aware that they were breaking the law and thus depriving the General Staff of its cultural asset status.
In the indictment, viber and vocap correspondence between Selaković and Vasić
In the indictment, TOK cited correspondence between Nikola Selaković and Goran Vasić, in which they send each other links to news from the media about the General Staff, but also to the public appearances of the conservator and former deputy director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Estela Radonjić Živkov, as well as the witness in this case, whom Selaković called a "serious Ustasha" in the correspondence.
This part of the indictment was reported by Danas in its entirety:
"On November 17, 2024, Nikola Selaković sent a photo to Vasić showing a close-up of an episode from TV "N1" featuring Estela Radonjić Živkov. Immediately afterwards, Selaković wrote to him: "I assume that she did not ask for permission to appear in public." And the defendant Vasić replies: "Of course not." and then adds: "She is the biggest problem." to which Selaković retorts: "I'll see you on Tuesday, then we'll talk." and immediately concludes: "Just don't react too hastily."
On November 18, 2024, Selaković sends a link to Vasić, and it is about news related to the request of employees from the Republic Institute for the Government to withdraw disputed decisions for the General Staff buildings, which news was published on the portal "New Serbian Political Thought" (NSPM).
Vasić immediately replies to Selaković: "I see... Is there a need for an answer from my side to this. Except that it was done without consultation and consent?" and then waiting for further instructions he writes: "What are the next steps?". To these questions, Selaković replied: "You don't need an answer. I sent you to see it. You need to see who led it. We will meet tomorrow and talk about it." To which Vasić immediately replied: "I already checked Estel" to which Selaković concluded: "A serious Ustasha."
The main hearing is scheduled for February 4 at 10 a.m.
