Two arrested over Belgrade water contamination false news

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The Serbian Interior Ministry said the police arrested two men after Belgrade’s deputy Mayor Goran Vesic said criminal charges have been filed against the people spreading false news about the contamination of the city’s water supply.

“Any spreading of false news is a crime and we reported these people to the police High-Tech crime department,” Vesic told a media conference called following the reports on social networks that the Serbian capitol’s water supply system had been contaminated and that the water was not fit for human consumption.

“This was an organised provocation,” Vesic said before drinking a glass of water in front of the cameras.

Later on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said police had arrested two men on suspicion of spreading false information on contaminated water.

Police identified the two as F.J., 42, and B.C., 39. The latter is an Interior Ministry’s employ, police said.

Vesic said Belgrade Waterworks laboratories and the City Public Health Department constantly control the quality of drinking water. “The quality of Belgrade’s water is much better than bottled water,” Vesic said.

The deputy Mayor said that the quality of the water can’t change without being detected. “If any change happens, they are obliged to inform the public,” he said.

The Belgrade Waterworks issued a statement earlier, denying reports that the city water supply had been contaminated and was not fit for consumption.