site.btaSerbian Culture Minister Charged in Connection with Former General Staff Building Deal

Serbian Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic has been charged with abuse of office and forgery of an official document in connection with a government’s decision to strip the buildings of the former General Staff of the former Yugoslav Army in Belgrade of their status as protected cultural heritage, Serbian media report.

According to the government’s plan for the revitalization of the two buildings in the centre of the Serbian capital, a luxury hotel will be built in their place by a company linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

Under the contract signed between Serbia and the company Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, backed by Kushner, the state leased the land under the General Staff buildings without compensation and committed to demolish them by May 2026, reported the Serbian portal Radar.

Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic was questioned on Thursday evening by the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime regarding the charges, and his lawyer requested that the proceedings be terminated, Tanjug agency reported.

After the hearing, Selakovic said that the prosecution is “a gang that has usurped part of the state system in an attempt to overthrow the government through the powers it possesses.”

According to statements from various Serbian officials, the new building will also include a memorial to the victims of the bombings in Serbia 26 years ago.

The issue is sensitive in Serbia because it concerns buildings that were bombed several times in 1999 during the 78-day NATO air campaign against the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia aimed at ending the war in Kosovo (1998–1999).

Professional organizations oppose the demolition, while the government claims that the military buildings were so damaged by the bombings that they cannot be restored and that there is a risk of collapse.

In November, the Serbian parliament passed a special law allowing authorities to explore the possibility of construction on the land beneath the General Staff complex of the former Yugoslav Army.

The law was passed after heated debates and earlier protests by students this year, who opposed the revitalization plan for the two buildings, partially destroyed by the 1999 bombings.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime launched an investigation into the General Staff case and on December 2 requested that Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic be forcibly brought in, as he did not appear for questioning on November 28 and did not provide valid reasons for his absence.

The so-called Old General Staff Building, designed by architect Vasilije Wilhelm Baumgarten and constructed between 1924 and 1928, was declared a cultural monument of great importance in 1984. Experts warn that its removal from the heritage register is an irreversible blow to Serbia’s architectural legacy.