Former Deputy Director of Institute in UKP: I refuse to be a victim of political retaliation for testifying in General Staff case

Estela Radonjić Živkov, former deputy director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, asserts that a legal proceeding initiated against her by the Ministry of Culture is a deliberate act of institutional pressure and an attempt at professional discreditation. Radonjić Živkov claims this action is a direct consequence of her testimony in the ongoing trial concerning the demolition and repurposing of the General Staff complex in Belgrade. She stated that the strategy of the current Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, and his legal team, as announced publicly, involves discrediting witnesses. Radonjić Živkov believes this announcement has now materialized through the alleged misuse of state institutions. The case against her, according to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, stems from an administrative procedure and public procurement for conservation work at the Manasija Monastery in August 2023. However, Radonjić Živkov, accompanied by her legal team, presented herself to the anti-corruption service of the Criminal Police Directorate for questioning as a citizen on August 25, 2026. She and her lawyers have refused to provide further statements regarding what they deem a fabricated procedure, asserting that the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Culture are attempting to construct an affair where none exists. Her legal team assesses that the ultimate goal of this process is her physical apprehension, or arrest, shortly before the next General Staff trial hearing. This, they contend, would be used by regime-controlled media to portray her as a "corrupt person," thereby destroying her credibility in court. Radonjić Živkov, a professional who has dedicated decades to defending Serbia's cultural heritage, stated she refuses to be a victim of political revenge for her testimony in the General Staff case.

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I am addressing you in order to inform the public about the open institutional pressure and attempt to discredit me as a witness in the court proceedings concerning the demolition and repurposing of the General Staff complex in Belgrade. As the former deputy director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, I am one of the key witnesses against the current Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, in the aforementioned process. At the trial itself, as well as in his and his legal team's subsequent media appearances, it was publicly announced that the minister's defense strategy would be the personal and professional discreditation of witnesses.