Dijana Hrka targeted by Informer and Vučićević

Category: Persecution

Period: from 10 Jan 2025

Outcome: No one investigated (as of 21 Mar 2025)

Dijana Hrka, the mother of Stefan Hrka, who was killed in the Novi Sad canopy collapse, has been publicly demanding accountability, and Informer and its editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević have targeted her for almost two years. Informer published a statement she says she never gave, showed a photograph of her younger son live on air, and during her hunger strike wrote about a "possible abduction" and a "body double". The Ministry of Defence accused her of secretly recording a conversation with the president, which she denies. No proceedings against Informer over its reporting on her have been found.

Mother of Stefan, who was killed

Dijana Hrka is the mother of Stefan Hrka, one of the 16 people killed when the canopy at Novi Sad railway station collapsed on 1 November 2024. After her son's death she publicly demanded accountability for the collapse, and since then, in her own words, she has “received many threats”. The canopy collapse itself is covered as a separate affair (Canopy collapse).

A statement she never gave, and a photo of her son

Informer and its editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević targeted her for almost two years. In January 2025, Kurir, and then Informer, published what they presented as an alleged exclusive first-person statement by her. Hrka said she had never given it to anyone and announced lawsuits.

In March 2025, after she reported a disturbing photograph of her younger son on her phone to the police, TV Informer showed a photograph of that son live on air. Over what she called the "media lynching" of her other child, she came to a protest outside Informer. In October 2025, according to N1, Vučićević referred on air to the victims of the canopy collapse as "so-called victims".

Hunger strike and the call recording

From 2 to 17 November 2025, Hrka was on hunger strike outside the National Assembly, next to the camp of government supporters in Pionirski Park (“Ćacilend”), demanding accountability for the canopy collapse, the release of arrested students and snap elections. In a statement on its website, the Ministry of Defence accused her of secretly and unlawfully recording a phone conversation with President Vučić, which she denied.

At the time, Informer wrote that “the blockaders failed to talk her into killing herself”, filmed outside the clinic based on the account of one veteran, published “evidence” of a “possible abduction” and claimed she had a “body double”; she called it an attempt to “smear” her fight.

Recordings and the storming of Informer

In May 2026, Vučićević played her audio recording from a group chat live on air. Hrka herself also spoke harshly about Informer: in July 2026, Informer published a recording in which she says “Let's bring a little cocktail and head to Informer”.

The day after the elections, on 26 October 2026, she called on citizens to gather outside Informer; a group entered the building and interrupted the broadcast, and she shouted at Vučićević, “Who's the Ustasha?”. Outside the building, police pushed back the crowd, and according to lawyer Čedomir Stojković, Hrka “was hit with a baton”. The next day Informer wrote that she had “openly threatened” Vučićević's children; she replied that she had not threatened anyone, that she had no regrets and that, for her, the protests were over.

No proceedings against Informer

Statements by officials and by Vučićević about Hrka are recorded in a separate entry. No proceedings against Informer over its coverage of her have been found.

Participants

Informer: Published a statement Hrka denied giving, a photo of her younger son, and claims of a “body double” and a “possible abduction” (responsible)
Dragan J. Vučićević: As editor-in-chief of Informer, played an audio recording of Hrka from a group chat live on the programme “Kolegijum” (responsible)
Kurir: Was the first to publish an alleged exclusive statement by Hrka, which she says she never gave to anyone, without calling her to check (responsible)
Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia: Stated that the Military Security Agency had established that Hrka secretly and unlawfully recorded a conversation with the president, which she denies (commented on the case)
Aleksandar Vučić: Was the first to say that Hrka had secretly recorded their conversation, and claimed someone was forcing her into the strike, which she calls a lie (commented on the case)
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: According to Dijana Hrka and the veterans, it let the attackers from Pionirski Park through and blamed the first night's attack on those who had gathered (responsible)
Security Information Agency: Together with the Interior Ministry, blamed an “organised group” for the attack on the first evening of the strike, while Hrka and the veterans blamed people from the park (commented on the case)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Special Department for High-Tech Crime: Mentioned in connection with the Interior Ministry's finding that the photo on Hrka's phone had not come from third parties (investigation and courts)
Ivica Dačić: Called on the media to respect the Hrka family's privacy, alongside the finding about the photo on the phone (investigation and courts)
Students in blockade: Drew attention to the photo of her younger son shown on TV Informer and organised a protest outside its newsroom (oversight and the public)

Victims and others harmed

Dijana Hrka