The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Rodoljub Sabic, has expressed his approval of the decision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to drop criminal charges on the B92 reporter for alleged revelation of the secret in the ,,road mob’’ case, estimating that the decision represents a contribution to establishing the standards of the democratic world in laying down the law. The Commissioner has reminded that this case gives reason to remember that as a state we have not provided appropriate protection for the people who have risen to protect the public interest and confront abuses, corruption or criminal. Those people, the so called insiders, or as they are more and more often called in the world- whistleblowers- often suffer unpleasant and completely undeserved consequences of the clash with formal or informal rules on keeping secrets.
In relation to that the Commissioner, Rodoljub Sabic, has stated the following:
„The ,,road mob’’ case speaks more than illustratively on the inadequate attitude towards this issue. The case has been uncovered with great difficulties, with the pressure from the media and the public. In the period of seven months no one has acted upon the decision of the Commissioner for Information made as per the complaint of a whistleblower from PE ‘’Roads of Serbia’’ (ЈП „Путеви Србије“), those who were obliged to act upon it have not done so, and those who were obliged to enforce it have not undertaken any actions. For that reason the information which would definitely confirm robberies at toll-gates has been withheld from the public. The case has received a deserved criminal and legal epilogue when most offenders, but not all of them, have been convicted for their activities.
However, the paradox is that which has happened to the people who have given the greatest contribution to uncovering the affair. The worker, whistleblower from PE ‘’Roads of Serbia’’, who has been the first to speak publicly about this case, has been made redundant and only three years later, after the media campaign which he has launched himself, he has been given his job back. And the B92 reporters, who have published parts of the transcript on listening in on the conversation of people, suspected to have been included in the affair, with unquestionable and obvious intention to contribute to uncovering the criminal affair, have been criminally prosecuted. With this right decision to abandon prosecution the persecution ended, but it is superfluous to comment the level of unpleasantness for journalists or any other person due to being the subject of ex officio criminal prosecution
We have recently missed the opportunity to provide quality legal solutions for protection of whistleblowers by adopting the Ombudsman’s Amendment to the Law on Free Access to Information. When the first opportunity presents itself this mistake should be amended. In addition to other things, the Resolution on Protection of Whistleblowers adopted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on 29th April 2010 calls for such an action.“
