Protests Follow Reports on Dutch Conglomerate’s Alleged Plans to Weaken Serbian Broadcaster

An EasyJet plane roars overhead, momentarily shattering a moment of silence held by protestors outside the headquarters of United Group B.V, a media conglomerate headquartered in a business park near Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport. 

About 20 members of the Serbian diaspora have gathered today to draw attention to alleged plans to undermine one of the last bastions of independent broadcasting in their homeland.

“It is shocking a Dutch company would try to limit media freedom in Serbia,” said Dunja Raduluv, a protest organizer. 

The outrage comes after OCCRP and its Serbian member center, KRIK, published a leaked recording of Vladimir Lučić, CEO of the state-owned Telekom Srbija, in conversation with United Group CEO Stan Miller.

The two CEOs discussed plans to remove Aleksandra Subotić as chief executive of United Media, a subsidiary of United Group that owns several Serbian outlets, including the TV station N1. 

Subotić has a reputation for defending editorial independence at United Group outlets despite political pressure, which has intensified during nine months of mass protest against corruption and authoritarianism under President Aleksandar Vučić.

United Group told OCCRP in an emailed statement on September 4: “The current management of the United Group has never interfered, and has no plans to interfere, with the editorial independence of its news outlets in Serbia or elsewhere.” 

United Group had previously confirmed that the recording was genuine, but said it was “incomplete and does not reflect the full conversation and context of those discussions.”

The company characterized the conversation as “a business discussion,” following United Group’s sale of media assets to Telekom Srbija.

The protestors were not buying those explanations.

Holding signs with slogans like “N1 for all, all for N1,” they demanded that United Group publicly commit to safeguarding editorial independence of United Media, and promise not to dismiss Subotić.

United Group should protect United Media “from the assaults and attacks from political institutions in Serbia and those who seek to destroy it,” said Serge Bajić, one of the protesters.

Members of the Serbian diaspora also protested on August 31 in New York City, while another demonstration is planned in London on September 6.