# Weekly “Vranjske” shut down after tax inspections Category: Persecution Period: from Jul 2017 Outcome: No one investigated (as of 19 May 2018) The weekly “Vranjske”, run by Vukašin Obradović, stopped publishing in September 2017 after 23 years, when its publisher was forced into bankruptcy following weeks of inspections by the Tax Administration and other inspectorates. According to a report the newsroom received, the paper had not broken any laws, while the Government spoke of a “problem of sustainable financing”. No record was found of anyone examining why the inspections were ordered. In December 2025, a court ordered the SNS in a first-instance ruling to pay Obradović 100,000 dinars for calling him a “proven racketeer”. ## Inspections and the paper's closure The weekly “Vranjske”, which journalist Vukašin Obradović founded in Vranje in 1994, stopped publishing in September 2017 after 23 years and 1069 issues. The closure followed weeks of inspections of the newsroom by the Tax Administration and other inspectorates, after which the publisher was forced into bankruptcy. According to Obradović, the journalists were informally warned of an inspection after an interview with the former head of the Tax Administration's Vranje branch. OCCRP reports that the inspectors arrived after a second such interview, in July 2017. ## Hunger strike and protest On 19 September, Obradović began a hunger strike, locking himself in the newsroom. That same night he was taken to hospital with dehydration and ended the strike on his doctors' advice. A protest, “Stojim uz Vranjske” (I Stand with Vranjske), was held outside the Government of Serbia. ## The Government's response The Government said the issue was not the suppression of media freedom but “a problem of sustainable funding”, and listed the sums the paper had received from the state and the city. Prime Minister Ana Brnabić wrote on Twitter that in 2017 alone the paper had received more than in the whole period from 2008 to 2012. The newsroom called this “hypocritical and cynical”, and President Vučić later said that “Vranjske was helped four times more than under the previous government”. ## The Tax Administration's report According to the daily Danas, in October 2017 the newsroom received a Tax Administration report stating that the paper had not broken any laws and that there were no grounds for a criminal complaint. In November, the “Vranjske” website was also shut down. When Transparency Serbia looked in 2018 into whether inspections were being used to pressure the media, the Tax Inspectorate refused its request for information. No record was found of anyone examining why the inspections were ordered. ## Obradović after the paper's closure Obradović later worked for the Beta news agency and the daily Danas, and since 2023 has been an editor at Vijesti in Podgorica. In December 2025, a court ordered the SNS in a first-instance ruling to pay him damages for calling him a “proven racketeer” in 2020. ## Participants - [Tax Administration of the Republic of Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/poreska-uprava): For weeks it inspected the newsroom with the task of finding “something”, but found no violations; it refused the request for information (responsible) - [Serbian Progressive Party](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/sns): In a 2020 statement it called editor Obradović a “proven racketeer”, for which a court ordered it to pay him damages (responsible) - [Ana Brnabić](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/ana-brnabic): She posted on Twitter that the paper had received more in 2017 than from 2008 to 2012, with the message “Enough hypocrisy!” (commented on the case) - [Government of the Republic of Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/vlada-srbije): She stated that this was not a matter of stifling media freedom but a funding problem, and cited how much the paper had received (commented on the case) - [Aleksandar Vučić](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/aleksandar-vucic): According to Obradović, he called him, said he would get back to him and never did; he said they had helped the paper four times as much (commented on the case) - [Vladan Vukosavljević](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/vladan-vukosavljevic): He said the media must survive on their own in the market under brutal conditions (commented on the case) - [Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/ministarstvo-kulture): According to the Government statement, it had awarded the paper 4,475,959 dinars in funding competitions since 2014 (commented on the case) - [Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS)](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/nuns): It condemned the Government's statement on the closure and said the authorities treat money for the media as their “private fiefdom” (oversight and the public) - [Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/ndnv): Together with NUNS it condemned the Government's statement and said the authorities treat money for the media as their “private fiefdom” (oversight and the public) - [Transparency Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/transparentnost-srbija): It said its research into inspections began after complaints from “Vranjske”, and the Tax Inspectorate refused its request (oversight and the public) - [Third Basic Court in Belgrade](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/treci-osnovni-sud-beograd): It partially upheld the lawsuit and ordered the SNS to pay 100,000 dinars (investigation and courts) ## Victims and others harmed - [Vukašin Obradović](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/vukasin-obradovic) ## Sources - [Vreme: The closure of “Vranjske”: The price of free journalism](): 20 Sep 2017 - [Wikipedia: Vukašin Obradović](): 27 Oct 2026 - [Radio Slobodna Evropa: The 'Vranjske' case: Fewer and fewer real journalists](): 20 Sep 2017 - [OCCRP: Vukašin je izgubio bitku, ali ne i rat.](): 15 Dec 2017 - [Radio Slobodna Evropa: Vukašin Obradović, founder of 'Vranjske', goes on hunger strike](): 19 Sep 2017 - [Radio Slobodna Evropa: Obradović leaves hospital of his own accord](): 20 Sep 2017 - [N1: Government says Vranjske received money, weekly denies it](): 20 Sep 2017 - [Slavko Ćuruvija fondacija: Gašenje nedeljnika Vranjske: štrajk glađu i protest ispred Vlade](): 1 Oct 2017 - [Radio Slobodna Evropa: Vukašin Obradović: Vučić said he would get back to me](): 26 Sep 2017 - [Kurir: VUKAŠIN OBRADOVIĆ: Serbia is gripped by a unique phenomenon of one group of media settling scores with journalists from other newsrooms](): 26 Sep 2017 - [Cenzolovka: The morning Vučić called me](): 20 Sep 2022 - [Cenzolovka: Vranjske operated within the law](): 20 Oct 2017 - [Cenzolovka: Vranjske portal shut down](): 21 Nov 2017 - [Cenzolovka: VRANJSKE is back](): 23 Dec 2017 - [Cenzolovka: “Transparency” suspects inspections are being misused to pressure the media](): 19 May 2018 - [N1: Vukašin Obradović on the "absurdity in Tivat": What message did Vučić want to send, and to whom?](): 4 Jun 2026 - [Danas: Lawyer Ivan Ninić: SNS must pay Vukašin Obradović for damaging his honour and reputation](): 19 Dec 2025 --- Source: Odgovornost, https://odgovornost.rs/en/afere/gasenje-vranjskih As of: 4 Nov 2026 Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)