In media

The families of the dead miners are looking for video footage from the pit, and the Assembly's response is awaited

Play Video

The lawyer of the families of the eight miners who died in the Soko pit near Aleksinac a year ago is asking on behalf of their clients to publish a video from the mine itself, which the former minister of mining, he says, said existed. He reminds that the response of the Serbian Parliament is also awaited regarding the establishment of a survey committee on the state of the domestic mines and in Sokol at the time of the accident – which was initiated by the families.

For the third time, the decision of the Basic Prosecutor’s Office of Aleksinac to initiate the proceedings is still awaited, until now they persistently refused, and if this does not happen, there is a possibility of a private lawsuit.

“It is difficult for the mother and the brother, for the mother to live, for him to lie in the black earth,” said the mother of one of the miners who died in Aleksinac at a media conference in the House of Culture.

The majority also say that no one from the authorities in the mine has contacted them in a year.

“No one is calling us from the mine, whatever I say would be redundant”

“Some came just to light a candle, colleagues and the director, and that’s it… I want to thank the marathoner who remembered them, who ran, thank them very much for remembering”

The families say they are living hard with the loss.

“Difficult, without support, lacking,” said one woman.

The mothers, wives, daughters of the dead miners tell N1 that, whatever happens, they will pursue the case to the end.

“No matter how much they rejected, we said – let’s move on.” “Whatever you decide, there is more to the higher,” said one woman.

And if the situation in the mine is good, they say, it is not.

“The accident could not have happened by itself.” If it was good for them, they wouldn’t run away where it suits them. This is a sign that something is not right here,” said the relatives of the deceased.

“There are those who are guilty and responsible, because it was known, it didn’t just happen that day, that’s why we won’t stop,” added another woman.

They recall that workers in the mine complained to their families about “strange smells”.

“A month before the accident, he knew something was going to happen.” He says – I smell rotten eggs, sulphur, some strange smell. They knew something was going to happen, they just didn’t know when,” they claim.

Lawyer Bratislav Stojanović reminds that the media talked about a video from the mine at the time of the accident.

“We received the information immediately after the accident, the then Minister of Energy and Mining herself mentioned that there was a recording from the pit. We have no knowledge that it exists as material evidence, we received information like you, from the media, it was passed through the media and remained sketchy. We plan to hear the miners, 20 of them survivors, and in parallel we will propose how the mine is secured, whether there are audio and video recordings, we have information that there are sensors for methane and a ventilation system. We will try to reach those agreements,” Stojanović said.

When asked if he is confident that he will get an epilogue, he says:

“As long as the title of the prosecutor’s office is public, I believe that it is a citizen’s service, and that the case will be prosecuted, that an indictment will be filed and those responsible will be prosecuted,” he said.

© 2020 Law office Stojanović