Editors of United Media in Serbia demand urgent investigation and accountability after Stan Miller’s conversation with Telekom Srbija CEO

At today’s joint meeting of editors from N1, Nova, Danas and Radar, we reaffirmed our unity in defending editorial independence and made it clear that our newsrooms will not become bargaining chips in political deals between investment funds and authoritarian regimes.

Given that United Group itself has confirmed that this conversation between Miller and Lucic did in fact take place, we believe that what citizens heard – not only in Serbia but across Europe – cannot be left without consequences.

The Board of United Group and BC Partners, as the company’s majority owner, must launch an independent and thorough investigation into the plans Miller outlined – his intention to dismantle and minimize operations in Serbia, to fulfill his promise to remove United Media CEO Aleksandra Subotic, and other business arrangements mentioned in the conversation. Considering the serious concerns over potential violations of fair competition principles and possible trading in influence – which constitutes a criminal offense – we believe Stan Miller cannot remain at the helm of the company.

Nikos Stathopoulos, Chairman of BC Partners for Europe, must also publicly clarify the nature of his relationship with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, after the recording suggested he had promised rapid changes in the leadership of United Media. We remind the public that President Vucic himself has openly admitted that he personally knows and communicates with Mr. Stathopoulos.

In line with international standards for the protection of media freedom, we categorically reject any attempt to impose “consultants” as tools of control. What matters most is preventing any form of “disciplining” the media – which, according to the recordings published by OCCRP, was promised to political structures in Serbia.

We prove and defend our editorial independence every single day. At the same time, United Group’s claims of supporting free media are untenable, as we continue to witness incidents such as when Stan Miller’s security forcefully prevented an N1 journalist from asking a legitimate question and threatened her for over an hour with police action and dismissal unless she deleted the footage.

Instead of shifting attention from these shameful political deals to questioning our editorial independence, United Group must publicly disclose and explain what has been agreed with Telekom Srbija and the Serbian authorities – and why.

As editors, we will not remain silent in the face of attempts to dismantle media freedom. We also call on our colleagues across all United Media newsrooms in the region to join us in this appeal, because what is at stake is a fundamental right – the public’s right to know the truth, said the UM editors' statements.

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