„I want to inform the public and citizens of Serbia that Stefan Cvetkovic is in our hands, found alive and well, that he is safe and sound, that he is currently in the police station for questioning, that he will stay there for a long time because he has a lot to explain“ – the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, announced at an urgent press conference in Belgrade.
Cvetkovic was found in the wider region around the town centre of Bela Crkva, in „very good health“ and „without any obvious visible injuries,“ added the Serbian President.
As the Serbian President explained, 18 of Stefanovic’s telephone calls with Pristina have been decoded.
Responding to the question of an Insider journalist whether it was a fake disappearance or not, and to give more information regarding the calls from Kosovo, Vucic then said:
„As far as the details are concerned, there are strange conversations from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, strange connections, the investigation will confirm whether something was staged.“
„He made some of his allegations. Competent authorities are going to determine whether they are true or not. I can immediately tell you that our security authorities have doubts about the truthfulness of these allegations, but these claims will be verified and the public will be informed about what actually happened. We will consider them as if they were all true,“ added Vucic.
He told the public that they will „have time“ to hear what happened in the next few days, and pointed out that the authorities „immediately doubted the version that appeared in certain media.“
„There were many lies and much fake news. We doubted that version because there were no visible signs of a struggle. The media, which reported that there was a box left or any blood lied. We also saw that the watch left behind was made of plastic, much cheaper than the watch which Mr. Cvetkovic wore three days before. Our state, security authorities and experts immediately said that plenty of things were fabricated. There were no traces of a struggle, no traces of braking. There was nothing,“ said the Serbian President.
He thanked members of the police and the Security Information Agency, as did the Minister of the Internal Affairs, Nebojsa Stefanovic, and the Director of the Security Information Agency, Bratislav Gasic.
Vucic, the Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs, and journalists from certain Belgrade media, repeatedly used the term „fake news“. Stefanovic assessed that „there is more and more fake news in Serbia“, while the Serbian president stated:
„… Now we can tell you that we suspect that more people planned this game. The investigation will determine whether it is or not. The investigation will not be completed in 24 hours, nor in seven days, it will last longer, because during this investigation we have discovered many other things, some other linked faces, how and in what way fake news has been spread systematically. And what do we have now that we have discovered that some people are liars and that they hate this country more than others? The only thing they are interested in is that their deep pockets are draining, so they are running out to fill them as soon as possible.“
Vucic also said that yesterday „a magnificent day was ruined“ – the opening of the Kromberg-Schubert factory in Krusevac, for which, he says, he prepared himself for „45 days“, and the visit to the Krstic family in the same town.
The disappearance of journalist Stefan Cvetkovic was reported to the police station in this city yesterday, the Serbian Ministry of Interior Affairs announced on the same day.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs also said they had included more organizational units, including two helicopters, Gendarmerie, police dogs, divers, to participate in the search.
Journalists’ associations – both Serbian and international – also reacted.
On the other hand, according to media reports, Cvetkovic reported threats on several occasions, and last year he was sentenced by the Court of First Instance to more than two years in prison based on the reports of certain officials of the Srpska Napredna Stranka (SNS).
He put himself in the public eye after the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, which he described as an „ordered criminal liquidation“ when he organized a media conference at the UNS press center in Belgrade, entitled „What is the cost of liquidation in North Kosovo?“
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
