Activist against Rio Tinto lithium mine receives anonymous death threats | Rio Tinto

BWhen Aleksandar Matković received the first death threat, he thought it was a joke. The text, sent to his Telegram account shortly after midnight on August 14, read: “We will follow you until you disappear, you scum.”

Matković is one of the activists at the forefront of widespread protests against plans to build a massive lithium mine in Serbia. He said: “At first I thought someone was joking, but later that morning I got another message asking 'How is the fight against Rio Tinto going?' from another profile I didn't recognize, and the app showed the sender's distance as only 500. [metres] away.”

Matković lives in Belgrade but was in Split to visit a friend, which made him suspect he was being followed. The reference to Rio Tinto, whose planned $2.4 billion lithium mine in Serbia's Jadar Valley had sparked major protests four days earlier, only heightened his concern.

“When I saw the distance, I thought, 'What the hell is going on?' The idea that someone could be following me was scary, so I contacted my lawyer and about an hour later I received a third message. This time it was super serious.”

The third message, written in incomprehensible German, said: “We know about your relationship with the leaders of the uprising. We know that everything comes from you. Even if you behave notoriously and then disappear somewhere, we will follow you. We will track you down and you can't even ask the police for help because you know very well that you can't, believe me. Stay out of the public eye for a while if you want to keep writing and breathing. Behave impeccably on social media. You have to understand that you have to be afraid for yourself and for your little brother.”

At that point, Matković reported the threats to Belgrade police, who are now investigating the incident, according to correspondence obtained by the Guardian along with the threatening messages.

The rapidly evolving facts are complex and their implications extend far beyond the Belgrade Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The campaign against lithium mining in Serbia has become a lightning rod for social protests and has mobilized tens of thousands of people for years, including ultranationalists angry about economic integration with the West, environmentalists, leftists and villagers who fear poisoning of their groundwater.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić warned last week that this opposition force was planning a “colour revolution” in the Balkans.

The former Yugoslav state has huge lithium reserves, which are crucial for electric vehicle batteries, and the EU took action this year to ensure that at least 10% of the critical minerals needed, such as lithium, are mined in Europe by 2030.

Julia Poliscanova, director of vehicles and supply chains at the Transport and Environment think tank, said lithium is crucial for the electrification of transport in Europe. “But it is important that this lithium comes from a diverse and, above all, sustainable and responsible supply chain. Serbia can be such a partner for Europe. But the current politicization of the planned mine is not helpful.”

Last month, a Serbian constitutional court overturned an earlier ruling that had blocked the Jadar mining project. A few days later, 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 the European supply chain.

Matković, an environmental activist who co-authored the Jadar declaration against lithium exploitation, says such deals would force Serbia into a “neo-colonial” relationship with Europe. A few days before the death threats he received, he published an open letter in the opposition newspaper Danas, arguing for alternative forms of green transport.

He said: “All the public discourse assumes that electric vehicles are a panacea that will solve climate change, but that's not entirely true. We need to invest more in public transport and infrastructure first. Then, if you want to stick with electric vehicles, you can use alternatives like sodium-ion batteries and hydrogen batteries.”

For its part, Rio Tinto condemned any threat of violence against Matković. In a statement, the company said: “Rio Tinto strongly condemns any direct or implicit threat of violence, online or elsewhere, against those participating in the debate on the Jadar project.”

The statement from the British-Australian multinational Rio Tinto said the company “also strongly condemns the intimidation and threats suffered by our employees and their families in Serbia.”

A spokesman said Rio Tinto employees had been subjected to physical threats online and during a protest outside a community meeting.

Matković is not taking any chances. After another barrage of SMS threats that have left him sleepless, he has taken steps to protect his safety and that of his family. He may also seek refuge in the embassy of another European country in Belgrade. He will also ask the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmentalists to intervene.

“Since August 14, my days have been a mixture of routine and utter chaos,” he said. “How can all this be part of our strategy to curb climate change? What kind of green transition do we want if we have to kill people to achieve it?”