Radar weekly secured documents showing that Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic twice sought an opinion from the Republic Secretariat for Legislation in July 2024 on removing protected cultural status from the General Staff complex in Belgrade, but was refused approval by its director, Dejan Djurdjevic.
Despite the objections, Selakovic submitted the proposal to the Serbian government without the Secretariat's opinion, which he was legally required to obtain, Radar said.
Selakovic is the first defendant in the case concerning the removal of protected status from the General Staff buildings, damaged during NATO's 1999 bombing of FR Yugoslavia. The Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office indicted him and 3 other officials of abuse of office and falsification of official documents. The disputed document was subsequently used as the basis for the government's November 14, 2024, decision to strip the complex, which includes the former General Staff and Defense Ministry buildings, of its protected cultural heritage status.