Radio Television of Serbia is no longer functional – by their own admission. In yesterday’s Dnevnik 2 (Evening News), hastily assembled from scattered reports and audio clips, RTS acknowledged that it is “operating under the most difficult conditions since the bombing,” and that they are “unable to broadcast the television program.” This regime-controlled media stronghold has been brought down by the mere fact that it was surrounded by dissatisfied citizens led by students.
The claim that RTS has stopped broadcasting its program sounds somewhat bizarre. This institution hasn’t truly offered a genuine television program for over a decade — at least not one that meets the standards set by the Constitution and the law, which require a public service broadcaster to uphold the principles of: (1) truthful, impartial, comprehensive, and timely reporting; (2) editorial independence; (3) independence from its funding sources; (4) prohibition of any form of censorship or unlawful influence over the broadcaster, its editors, or its journalists; (5) adherence to internationally recognized standards and principles, with particular respect for human rights, freedoms, and democratic values; and (6) compliance with professional standards and codes of conduct.
Did RTS “fall” like undefended territory, a demonstrative exercise of sorts? Possibly. In recent months, although it has failed to report in line with its legal obligations, RTS has also not been flattering the President enough — something he has criticized multiple times. If that is indeed why RTS was brought down, it now appears to be working urgently to correct course. In yesterday’s hastily assembled news segment, Vučić’s monologue lasted for more than five out of the total 20 minutes (with 3 minutes and 15 seconds from his Instagram address and another two minutes from “Ćaciland”), while no other political figure was given a voice throughout those 20 minutes.
Regardless of how this attempt to bring RTS back under the rule of law unfolds, the question remains — how does the plan put forward by activists arrested on March 15th in Novi Sad to “enter the RTS building” and “seek support from the crowd” for a transitional government sound now?
How do these ideas resonate a month later — especially now that RTS’s broadcasting has been completely disabled (by its own admission), and students have openly voiced their support for a transitional, expert-led government?
The so-called “Novi Sad Six” also spoke about crowbars and Molotov cocktails, but beyond that, their stated objective was the same as what we are witnessing now — disrupting RTS’s regular television broadcast. In the conversation leaked by pro-government media, they described RTS as “the key”, without mentioning any plans to take over other institutions. They also clearly stated that they have no legitimacy to remove the president.
Despite this, the Novi Sad prosecutor’s office moved aggressively, labeling the conversation as evidence of “preparing a crime against the constitutional order and security of Serbia.”
It still remains unclear to the public which specific crime against the constitutional order the activists were allegedly preparing. Based on a simple process of elimination and the audio recording circulated by pro-government tabloids, one might, for the sake of argument, look to the charge of “diversion” under Article 313 of the Criminal Code. But even hat seems like a stretch — since such charges require clear intent to threaten the constitutional order or national security. From the recording we’ve all heard, it is evident that the activists had no intent to threaten the state by entering RTS — rather, they aimed simply to interrupt RTS’s regular broadcast.
Why does all this matter? Because while the broadcast has indeed been interrupted, and students and citizens are peacefully gathered outside RTS, listening to music and painting Easter eggs in front of RTS — six people remain in detention cells for a second month, effectively denied the right to a proper defense.
At first, their defense attorneys claimed they had no access to the case files. Only after public pressure (!?) did lawyers confirm that the recording was made by the BIA (State Security Agency) – as if there was ever any doubt – not as part of any special investigative measures authorized under the Criminal Procedure Code. In other words, no prosecutor had requested the wiretapping of the Novi Sad activists — the BIA director did.
The law governing the BIA is clear — if the agency obtains material indicating a criminal offense that may warrant special investigative measures, it must hand it over to the competent public prosecutor. The prosecutor can then request such measures. But it seems that never happened. Instead, recreational BIA surveillance is being forcibly tacked onto a criminal case.
If RTS fell as Vučić’s undefended territory, the Novi Sad Six fell because the students didn’t defend them. Had the students not so quickly disowned them, these people probably wouldn’t be in detention under extremely severe (and exaggerated) charges. At most, they might have been accused of a far lesser offense, or perhaps there would have been no case at all — considering the illegality of the recording, which was first leaked to pro-government media before the defense even saw it.
The RTS broadcast has been interrupted, but the deafening silence surrounding the fate of these six people (along with six more who cannot return to Serbia due to the same charges) continues. We must demand their immediate release. If they aren’t freed soon, the regime will do everything it can to get one of them to confess to the grave crime they’re charged with — a crime they almost certainly didn’t commit. We all know how confessions are extracted in Serbian detention; people admit even to far lesser offenses simply to escape the ordeal and catch a glimpse of freedom. Detention is not only unpleasant — it can be life-threatening, as many cases have shown. And in times like these, that danger only grows.
If one of the Novi Sad Six confesses to the alleged crime, the regime will declare the case closed: they will cast themselves as defenders of the constitutional order, and portray those of us on the streets as the ones trying to destroy it. And if that happens, anyone could end up trapped in the same rigged process, forgotten by all. Just as anyone could have been standing under that canopy. Something to think about.
Translated by Marijana Simić
Peščanik.net, 23.04.2025.
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