Serbian opposition leader Dragan Djilas told Thursday’s news conference that a video of a ruling party official’s book being burned had been altered to blame the opposition.

Djilas, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), showed the video in which SSP official Branko Miljus is heard saying don’t burn the book in front of the Progres Gallery where Belgrade deputy Mayor Goran Vesic held its promotion. A group of opposition supporters and activists protested in front of the gallery and Vesic had to be escorted out by plain clothes police. A day later, a video appeared showing the hands of at least two people setting fire to the book. Ruling party officials claimed that opposition activists burned the book and called them fascists and the pro-government TV Pink aired pre-World War 2 footage of Nazis burning books in its report on the incident at the promotion.  

“How can a man who is clearly saying “put it out” be called a fascist,” Djilas said and asked a TV Pink reporter whether that station and and the pro-government tabloid Informer would apologize for calling Miljus a fascist.  

Djilas said that the audio in the original video was removed. “This video was ordered by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and made in the kitchen of (alleged propaganda expert Vladimir) Beba Popovic,” he said.  

The SSP leader said the man setting the book on fire was a member of his party but could not identify him immediately, saying that he would give the media the name later.