IWhen Aleksandar Matković received the first message threatening his life, he thought it was a joke. The text, sent to his Telegram account shortly after midnight on 14 August, read: “We will follow you until you disappear, scum.”
Matković is one of a number of activists who have been at the forefront of widespread protests against plans to develop a massive lithium mine in Serbia. He said: “At first I thought someone was joking, but during the morning I received another message saying ‘how is the fight against Rio Tinto going?’ from another profile I didn’t know, and the app showed the sender’s distance was only 500 (meters).”
Matković lives in Belgrade but was in Split visiting a friend, which made him think he was being followed. The reference to Rio Tinto, whose $2.4 billion lithium mine in Serbia’s Jadar Valley had sparked huge protests four days earlier, only added to his sense of alarm.
“When I saw the distance, I thought, ‘What the hell is going on? ’ The idea that someone could be following me scared me, so I contacted my lawyer and about an hour later I got a third message. This time it was super serious.”
The third message, written in garbled German, read: “We know your relationship with the leaders of the revolt. We know that everything originates from you. Even if you behave notoriously and then disappear somewhere, we will follow you. We will track you down and you cannot even ask the police for help because you know perfectly well that you cannot, believe me. Stay out of the public eye for a while if you want to continue writing and breathing. Behave impeccably on social media. You must understand that you must be afraid for yourself and for your little brother.”
At the time, Matković reported the threats to Belgrade police, who are now investigating, according to correspondence seen by the Guardian along with the threatening texts.
The issues at stake are complex and rapidly evolving, and have implications that extend far beyond the Belgrade prosecutor’s office.
The campaign against lithium mines in Serbia has become a lightning rod for social demands, which mobilized tens of thousands of people for several years, including ultra-nationalists angry about economic integration with the West, environmentalists, leftists and villagers fearful that their Groundwater will be poisoned.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić warned Last week, this opposition force was planning a “colour revolution” in the Balkans.
The former Yugoslav nation has vast deposits of lithium, which are critical for batteries used to power electric vehicles. This year, the EU took steps to ensure that at least 10% of the critical minerals, such as lithium, it needs are found in mined in Europe by 2030.
Julia Poliscanova, director of vehicles and supply chains at the Transport and Environment think tank, said lithium was essential to boosting the electrification of transport in Europe. “However, it is important that this lithium comes from a diverse and, above all, sustainable and responsibly sourced supply chain. Serbia can be such a partner for Europe, but the current politicisation of the planned mine does not help.”
Last month, a Serbian constitutional court dumped An earlier ruling had blocked the Jadar mining project. Within days, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Belgrade to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Serbian government on behalf of the EU to bring the country’s critical raw materials into Europe’s supply chain.
Matković, a green activist who co-wrote the Jadar Declaration against lithium exploitation, says such agreements will tie Serbia to a “Neocolonial” relationship with Europe. A few days before the death threats he received, he published a open letter in the opposition newspaper Danas, advocating alternative forms of environmentally friendly transport.
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“All the public discourse is that electric vehicles are a magic solution to climate change, but that is not entirely true. First we need more investment in public transport and infrastructure. Then, if we want to continue using electric vehicles, we can use alternatives such as sodium ion batteries and hydrogen batteries,” he said.
Rio Tinto, for its part, condemned any threats of violence against Matković. In a statement, the company said: “Rio Tinto strongly condemns any direct or implied threats of violence, online or elsewhere, against those involved in the debate on the Jadar project.”
The statement from Rio Tinto, a British-Australian multinational, says the company “also condemns in the strongest terms the intimidation and threats that our employees and their families in Serbia have faced.”
Rio Tinto employees had faced physical threats online and when protesters picketed a community meeting, a spokesman said.
Matković is taking no chances. After receiving new threats via text messages that have kept her awake, she has taken steps to protect her safety and that of her family, including seeking protection at the embassy of another European country in Belgrade. She will also request the intervention of the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders.
“Since August 14, my days have been a volatile mix of routine and absolute chaos,” he said. “How can all of this be integral to our climate change mitigation strategy? What kind of green transition do we want if we have to kill people to achieve it?”
