Belgrade Independent Radio B92 Closed Down By Court Order
"... the premises are being evicted now."
- e-mail to JURIST, April 2/99, 09:38 Central European Time

Pittsburgh, April 2 [Special to JURIST] - The leading independent broadcaster in Yugoslavia, Belgrade Radio B92, has been closed following an order of the Commercial Court in Belgrade. This statement appeared on the B92 Web site early this morning:

"On friday April 2, at 09.00, inspectors followed by policemen delivered to mr. Sasa Mirkovic, director of Radio B92 the decision wich denounce mr. Mirkovic's capacity to represent Radio B92. In other words, mr. Mirkovic has been ousted and is no longer Director of Radio B92. The new court decision appointed the new Director of Radio B92, mr. Aleksandar Nikacevic. The premises of the Radio B92 have been sealed off. Soon after the new Director, with the presence of inspectors, issued the order to all the employees to meet at their working place no later than Monday, April 5. STRUGGLE CONTINUES. WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER. RADIO B92, BELGRADE, SERBIA"

Sources in Belgrade tell JURIST that the decision of the Commercial Court to replace one Director with another was obviously illegal, given that under both the local Companies Act and the statute governing B92, this power rests exclusively with the employees of B92, organized in the B92 Assembly. B92 will be lodging a complaint against the decision. ANEM (the Association of Independent Electronic Media) has also been evicted from its premises in the same building, and will be filing an objection.

This is the second closure of B92 in ten days. The station was first closed on the night of March 23/24, when it was ordered to shut down its transmitter. It later returned to the air by satellite and over the Internet. B92's Internet transmissions have now ceased. Sasa Mirkovic, the replaced B92 Director, has issued this statement .

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