"Vucic wiretapped for 13 years"

"Vucic wiretapped for 13 years"

Minister Stefanovic stated that Aleksandar Vucic was wiretapped in the period from 1995 to 2000, and later on, from 2000 to 2003, and in a particularly insidious manner - from 2007 to 2012, without any court order or legally founded request, and sometimes by court order.

Stefanovic emphasized that, after years of listening and monitoring Aleksandar Vucic's communication, no proceedings had been initiated against any person, no criminal charges had been filed, meaning that he was followed only because he was considered a political opponent.

Stefanovic told reporters that from 2007 to 2012, Vucic was wiretapped through the coverage of several people who communicated with him, who, he said, were labeled "extremists." Goran Vesic and Vladimir Djukanovic were among those persons, Stefanovic said, adding that the names of the others could not be disclosed for privacy reasons.

He explained that they had been tapped and measures were taken to monitor their electronic communication, especially their communication with Vucic. He pointed out that Vesic and Djukanovic are just an example, since about a dozen people were selected from Vucic's environment, whose communication with Vucic was closely monitored.

"After all, if you have nothing to support the monitoring process, it is obvious that the aim was not to uncover crimes, but to monitor the work of someone you consider to be a political opponent," Stefanovic said.

Tomislav Nikolic was treated in a similar way, he added.