04/09/2024

Closing Statements in the Trial Against Zijin for Air Pollution: Prosecutor Recommends Suspended and Monetary Sentences, Defense Seeks Acquittal

On September 3, 2024, closing statements were presented at the Basic Court in Bor in the trial against the company “Serbia Zijin Copper Bor” and the responsible individual, based on reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of Environmental Pollution. The charges cover the period from June 2019 to November 2020, during which concentrations of sulfur dioxide, arsenic, nickel, lead, and other metals in the air were significantly elevated. As a result, RERI filed a complaint with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bor over two years ago.

In the closing statement, the prosecutor asserted that the defendants are responsible for committing the criminal offense. According to the findings of the Institute of Chemistry, Technology, and Metallurgy at the University of Belgrade, during the mentioned period, there was significant air, water, and soil pollution in the territory of the City of Bor due to the release of pollutants contrary to regulations, including not only sulfur dioxide but also arsenic, nickel, cadmium, mercury, and others. The prosecutor proposed that the court impose a suspended sentence of two years in prison on the responsible individual, which would not be enforced if the same criminal offense is not repeated within five years. Additionally, the prosecutor recommended a fine of 500,000 dinars. For the responsible legal entity, the prosecutor suggested a suspended fine of 5 million dinars, provided that the criminal offense is not repeated within the next three years. Along with this suspended sentence, the prosecutor proposed that the legal entity be placed under protective supervision, which would include two obligations—first, organizing control measures to prevent further criminal offenses, and second, submitting periodic business reports to the authority responsible for enforcing the protective supervision. The prosecutor also proposed a fine of 5 million dinars for the legal entity.

The defendants in this case denied the guilt of the Zijin company and the responsible party with arguments they presented throughout the nearly two-year trial, claiming that the findings of the Institute are inaccurate, that the entire case is politically motivated, and that the pollution in Bor originates from the landfill, individual heating systems, traffic, etc.

Judge Milanka Stojanović concluded the trial after the closing statements from the prosecution and the defense by stating that the verdict would be delivered to all participants in writing. Attorney Ljubica Vukčević, representing RERI, which filed the complaint with the Bor Prosecutor’s Office for this case, expressed regret that the verdict was not announced immediately after the closing statements, despite the legal possibility for doing so. She expects a conviction of Zijin for the proposed sentence and believes that this would be the first such verdict in our country against a company for this type of criminal offense. It would serve as a strong general deterrent for all companies operating in violation of the regulations of the Republic of Serbia.

There were also members of the interested public in the courtroom, and Dejan Lazar, a representative of the citizens’ association “Glasno za omladinu,” stated that a conviction is necessary and that he would like to see anyone who pollutes the environment finally be adequately punished.

Association “Za Drinking Fountains”

This text was produced within the project “Environmental response to mining expansion in Timočka Krajina” funded by the European Union, and implemented by the Association “Za Drinking Fountains”, the Association of Young Researchers Bor, Civic Library “Europe” Bor and Children’s Center Zaječar. The content of the text is entirely responsibility of these associations and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.