January 15, 2023
Nenad Paunović, editor-in-chief of local Pirot-based portal Pirot plusonline, who was the first to report to the Serbian public on the leak of an ammonia tank near Pirot and the spill of that dangerous gas, was taken into police custody together with an associate who operated a drone that filmed the scene of the accident.
The two toured the site of the accident some 13 days after the incident occurred. They were released following interrogation and police detention lasting four hours, but neither Paunović nor his lawyer, Srđan Mitić, has subsequently received any information as to whether criminal charges would be filed and for what criminal act.
Apart from being the first to report on the accident, Paunović also became known to the general public after finding a corpse in the immediate vicinity of the railway lines, but also for his posing of questions to Environmental Protection Minister Irena Vujović that she was unable to answer.
