August 16, 2019
Željko Matorčević, the editor of portal Žig info, from the Belgrade municipality of Grocka, has received a 12th lawsuit from former Grocka municipal president Dragoljub Simonović.
Simonović has sued Matorčević over articles published on this portal and is seeking a total of almost four million dinars (more than 30,000 euros) in compensation for “enduring mental suffering”.
Matorčević was also attacked and severely beaten in Grocka during October last year, which led to him ending up hospitalised. It has yet to be determined who carried out the attack.
The most powerful man in this municipality, Simonović is charged with ordering an arson attack on Jovanović’s house in December 2018. According to the prosecutor, the motive for firebombing the house lies in Jovanović’s articles published on the Žig info portal, which Simonović is suing this media outlet for publishing.
Matorčević considers that Simonović is continuing to abuse journalists in this way, noting that once court proceedings begin he will have to attend hearings almost every day, which will prevent him from doing the job that represents his livelihood.
