**Doctor Blackmails Parents of Children with Rare Disease**
A doctor in Kragujevac, Serbia has been blackmailing parents of children with cystic fibrosis into supporting the Serbian regime. Dr. Andjelka Stojkovic sent messages to the parents, threatening to make them repay government health care costs for their children’s therapy if they did not cooperate.
**The Threats**
Dr. Stojkovic’s messages were received by parents early in March. She asked them to support “students who want to study” and those gathered in Pioneers’ Park in Belgrade, supposedly in their own interest. However, when the parents failed to respond, they received follow-up messages detailing their child’s treatment costs – an implicit warning that they could not afford the treatment without state support.
**Cystic Fibrosis and Its Costs**
Cystic fibrosis is a rare and severe disease that affects more than 350 people in Serbia. The condition causes damage to the lungs, digestive system, and other organs in the body. Patients have received innovative but expensive medications covered by the Health Insurance Fund (RFZO) in recent years. Now, however, they are being pressured to repay this support.
**The Doctor’s Position**
Dr. Stojkovic serves as Head of the Department of Pulmonology, Allergy, and Immunology at the Pediatrics Clinic of the Clinical Center of Serbia and is a professor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Kragujevac. She is also the deputy speaker of the Kragujevac City Assembly and a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
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