In media
The higher prosecutor's office in Nis accepted the complaint of the families of the dead miners "Soko"

The appeal of the lawyer representing the families of the dead miners was accepted by the High Prosecutor’s Office in Niš, confirmed by the Stojanović law office, and they say that this means that responsibility for the accident in the “Soko” Mine will be re-examined by the Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Aleksinac. Although they rejected the criminal charges twice last year, they will have to investigate for the third time whether there are those responsible for the accident in the mine, and they were also ordered to listen to new witnesses.
That someone must answer for the death of 8 miners in the “Soko” Mine, because for 14 months there were pit excavations there without a work permit – Bratislav Stojanović, the lawyer of the families of the victims, testified to the public recently.
That is why the lawyer filed an appeal a little more than 2 weeks ago against the decision of the Aleksinac Prosecutor’s Office, which on two occasions, and the last time near the end of the year, dismissed the criminal charges, which practically meant that no one was responsible for this accident.
Their appeal was accepted by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Niš, confirmed from the Stojanović Law Office.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Niš accepted our complaint and ordered the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office to continue the proceedings against the suspects and ordered them to take certain actions, among other things, to listen to the republican mining inspector, who was supervising, as well as the dispatcher, as well as some others additional actions – the lawyer states.
This means that the Aleksinac Prosecutor’s Office must continue the investigation of responsibility for the death, they explain, even though they have already rejected the criminal charges twice.
The instruction of the Higher Prosecutor’s Office in Niš obliges the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Aleksinac to continue the proceedings, even though they dismissed the criminal charges. We expect the Prosecution to act according to those instructions, so we will see further. We have confidence in the prosecutor’s office and we expect that they will work in accordance with their procedural powers and by law, they are obliged to do so, whether they want it or not – the office added.
They have not submitted the initiative they announced to the National Assembly yet, because they emphasize that they have confidence in the Prosecutor’s Office, but they say that it is still an option and that they will inform the public about further steps in a timely manner.
Let us remind you that the accident in the “Soko” mine happened on April 1 last year, when 8 miners were killed and several others were injured. Criminal charges were filed by the Ministry of Mining and Energy, but the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Aleksinac rejected them twice.
The new minister Dubravka Đedović also visited this mine two days ago, when the “Biljkina Struga” surface mine started operating, and she said that underground exploitation is still prohibited.