Parts of this week's interrogation of Israeli Srulik Einhorn, an advisor to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, have been marked "top secret" and the parties to the proceedings have been asked not to make the content of the testimony public, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) announced today.
Einhorn, who is often referred to in the media as a "spin doctor" and a close associate of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was questioned in Belgrade by two Israeli investigators for three days in a row - on Tuesday and Wednesday for seven hours each, and yesterday for just under four hours, BIRN reports.
The Israeli, who has been living in Belgrade for a long time, was questioned by investigators regarding two scandals that have shaken the Israeli public for months: "Qatargate" - paid promotion of Qatar's interests in Israel, and "Bibilix" - the delivery of secret military documents to a journalist from the German Bild.
In addition to Einhorn and his lawyers, the interrogations were attended by Israeli investigators from the Lahav 433 police unit, responsible for serious crimes, as well as the prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office of Serbia, Branko Stamenković, who led the interrogation, BIRN reports.
Einhorn's lawyer, Đorđe Simić, told BIRN that he could not provide details of the hearing due to the "top secret" marking on the case.
"Unfortunately, I am not in a position to provide more information, because part of the proceedings has been marked 'top secret', and therefore I am not allowed to disclose more details," said Simić.
A source from the Serbian judiciary told BIRN that only Serbian prosecutor Branko Stamenković could have marked the document "top secret", since the Serbian prosecutor's office is in charge of the proceedings.
This designation indicates that something was said during the interrogation that is considered to have a certain impact on the national security of Serbia.
Simić also stated that Einhorn denied all the accusations and that he answered a large number of questions "at length and in detail, presenting very specific facts and evidence", despite the fact that he had the right to defend himself by remaining silent.
"I claim that Einhorn's convincing testimony has completely demystified and rendered meaningless the proceedings initiated in Israel, and that it is clear to everyone that this is a politically, and not criminally, motivated prosecution," said Simić.
According to BIRN, Einhorn was questioned under the procedure prescribed by the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance. According to these regulations, the interrogation is conducted according to the rules of the requesting country, which in this case is Israel, with the corrective application of the rules of procedure of the requested country - Serbia.
Einhorn has not returned to Israel since investigations against him were launched last year. BIRN previously reported that Einhorn founded a consulting firm, Insight Partners, in April 2024, which generated $2,3 million in revenue that year.
He had long evaded calls to return to Israel for questioning. Requests to be questioned in Serbia were initially rejected by Israeli prosecutors, pending his return to the country, but investigators Momi Meshullam and Gil Rahlin eventually traveled to Serbia to question him.
Israeli investigators have questioned Einhorn in connection with the "Qatargate" affair, namely his work for Qatar through the PR agency Perception Media, which he ran together with Jonathan Urich, another longtime Netanyahu associate. Along with the two, Eli Feldstein, the Israeli prime minister's spokesman, is also a suspect.
The trio is suspected of leading a pro-Qatar campaign aimed at portraying Qatar in a positive light ahead of the 2022 World Cup being held in the country.
The information that close associates of the Israeli Prime Minister are on the payroll of a state that is considered a sponsor of the Palestinian Hamas has caused a violent reaction from the Israeli public.
The second case in which Einhorn is suspected is the "Bibilix" scandal, which erupted after allegations that he, Urich and Feldstein provided secret military documents to a journalist from the German Bild.
According to Israeli media, Feldstein failed to deliver confidential materials to a journalist from Israel's Channel 12 due to censorship, after which Urich allegedly ordered the information to be forwarded to Einhorn, who then delivered it to Bild.
The goal was to divert the attention of the Israeli public from the deaths of six Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip in August 2024.
Feldstein attempted to change the public discourse by blaming slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for the failure of the potential exchange, thereby shifting the blame away from Netanyahu, who is often accused of sabotaging efforts to secure a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Einhorn is considered a successful but controversial marketing expert. He began working for Netanyahu's Likud party in 2019, which has since won the most votes in four of the five election cycles. Critics of Einhorn claim that the election victories were achieved through the frequent use of "alternative facts and inflammatory lies" in the campaigns.
In January of this year, Israeli journalist Yossi Melman stated that Einhorn is an "agent of chaos," known in Israel for spreading false information about personalities and creating a highly toxic atmosphere that results in a polarized society.
"We call such guys a poison machine, because they poison Israeli democracy by spreading rumors, conspiracy theories, and fake news. After working for Netanyahu, he opened a company and provided consulting services to other countries in the region, especially Serbia and Vučić," Melman told N1 television.
Asked about Einhorn's company Perception Media's praise for leading Vučić to almost 62 percent of the vote in the election, Melman said that the Serbian leader's advisor "is behind the spread of toxic messages and incitement between rival political parties."
It is not known when Einhorn began working for Vučić, but BIRN and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed details of a propaganda campaign for the Serbian president in April this year. The documentation that journalists found online primarily concerned improving Qatar's image ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The document was created in May 2022 and in its initial version contained a propaganda strategy for Vučić, most likely copied from another document. A few minutes later, the messages related to Serbia were deleted and replaced with content related to Qatar. However, all changes to the documents were recorded over time, and Haaretz journalists preserved all versions, as well as evidence of digital traces.
According to Einhorn's plan, the campaign should portray Vučić as a statesman with a global reputation, a mediator in international conflicts, and present Serbia in his era as "a growing global power that drives political and economic processes around the world."
The campaign is aimed at the West – primarily at the US and its Democratic Party. It was planned for Vučić to appear on popular global podcasts and to narrate a historical mini-series about Serbia, BIRN reports.
The plan also called for hiring "world-renowned authors to write praiseworthy things about him," and for pro-Serbian billboards to be erected in Western capitals praising Serbia's supposedly fast-growing economy and IT sector.
BIRN and Haaretz have also learned that Einhorn has not only been involved in political marketing over the past year - sources claim that he also assisted in the export of Serbian ammunition to Israel, which was supposed to be delivered via the territory of Montenegro.
Einhorn was supposed to use his position as an advisor to both Vučić and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić to organize meetings of high-ranking officials to agree on the transit of Serbian ammunition through Montenegrin territory, BIRN reports.
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