Court Bars TV From Repeating Mionica Councilwoman Claims

Belgrade’s Higher Court has ordered an interim measure that bars a local television station from broadcasting claims about a Mionica councilwoman she is suing over. The court granted the request filed by plaintiff Marija Petrovic, an elementary school art teacher and councilwoman on the United for Mionica list, in a ruling that became known on August 13.

The measure applies to Vesna Markovic, editor-in-chief of the outlet TV Kolubara and its portal, kolubaratv.rs. Until the lawsuit is finally resolved, she is barred from republishing, distributing or otherwise making public the disputed information that the court found false and insulting, in violation of the plaintiff’s honor and reputation. Violating the measure carries financial penalties. Petrovic is represented in the case by attorney Ivan Ninic.

Which Claims the Court No Longer Allows

The ban is specific and covers four claims:

• that Petrovic abused students
• that she was romantically involved with a student
• that she photographed naked students in her apartment
• that she used alcohol and marijuana with students

The claims aired on the show Bez Uvijanja and were published on the kolubaratv.rs portal on July 31, 2026, at 10:40 am. The show had been on air for only a month before the court ruled.

What Led to the Lawsuit

As a councilwoman, Petrovic requested a financial report from the Cultural Center in Mionica after, she says, irregularities in public procurement came to light. The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance did not act on her request. The acting director of that institution had previously sued her over a statement she made about the ruling party, and the court ruled in her favor at the time.

Petrovic describes the Higher Court’s ruling as a step forward:

“This is a victory for me, a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. We are all aware of what is happening right now, and we have lost so much trust in every institution, especially the judiciary and the prosecution. When I saw the ruling and how quickly it was issued, I really saw a kind of victory and a step forward, a sign that we can be a normal society.”

Her attorney commented on the ruling on social media:

“Professor Marija Petrovic from Mionica has received court protection from an anti-civilizational dehumanization the likes of which Mionica has never seen in its history. A time of accountability is coming. The laws are excellent, the only question is whether judges have a spine or just serve the regime.”

Ninic also filed a request for an interim measure on behalf of another councilor from the same list, though that request has not been granted so far.

Same Show, Another Councilor

The councilor in question is student Vladimir Djordjevic, who was accused on the same station of receiving 900,000 euros to help overthrow the government. The show has aired about 15 episodes so far, and Djordjevic says he was the subject of 14 of them.

“I feel very threatened, together with my mother, my family and my fiancee,” Djordjevic told N1.

New Face of Serbia party president Milos Parandilovic said in a statement that segments like these “paint a target on Vladimir Djordjevic’s forehead and on his family.”

Djordjevic was beaten in Valjevo on August 14 last year, during a protest, so the anniversary of that attack falls on the same day he is again the subject of media accusations.

The Case Is Only Beginning

An interim measure does not resolve a dispute, it freezes it at a single point: whatever has already been published cannot be repeated while the lawsuit is ongoing. The case Marija Petrovic filed has not moved forward. No hearing has been held or scheduled, and even a first court date is not yet known.

Petrovic says the coverage continued after the ruling, but in a different form, without repeating the banned claims. Whether the court will treat that as a violation of the measure too depends on when the case is finally heard.