Serbia: Ongoing attacks on journalists must stop

The SafeJournalists Network, Media Freedom Rapid Response partners and the Coalition for Media Freedom condemn the ongoing attacks on journalists in Serbia. This growing pressure was recently highlighted by a physical attack on journalist Vuk Cvijić and calls for prison sentences for journalists from KRIK and Pištaljka media. We call on the authorities to prioritize tackling the increasing attacks on the press and to make a serious commitment to improving the safety of journalists.

Radar weekly journalist Vuk Cvijić was attacked on May 29 in Belgrade by Milan Lađević, co-owner of the publishing house of the pro-government tabloid Srpski telegraf. The police documented the incident and the Attorney General of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanović, instructed the First Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the case and establish all the circumstances.

Cvijić told the media that Lađević was sitting in a cafe with an acquaintance, whom Cvijić greeted. After that, the journalist was first verbally and then physically attacked. Lađević began insulting the journalist and finally hit him on the head.

In addition to threats and physical attacks on journalists, harassment lawsuits are becoming more frequent and prosecutors are also demanding prison sentences for journalists.

The journalists of the KRIK portal were sued by the judge of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade, Dušanka Đorđević, in response to the publication of the “Judge Who Judges” database, in which KRIK journalists monitor/record the work of the judiciary. Among the judges’ activities monitored/mentioned by the database are those of Đorđević. In addition to financial compensation, Judge Đorđević is demanding prison sentences for the journalists and a two-year ban from practicing the profession. In the lawsuits filed on May 13 and 15, Judge Đorđević claims that journalists violated her privacy by publishing her name and position at the Court of Appeal in Belgrade, as well as details of the properties she owns jointly with her husband. She further claims that KRIK journalists have put her safety at risk and are helping criminals track her down.

“Perhaps this is the biggest pressure on KRIK so far, but these lawsuits indirectly threaten all other media in Serbia. A high-ranking judge is suing us, claiming that we should not have even published her name. This means that we are now in a position to defend not only our work in court, but also the legal right of journalists to write about those who wield power,” said KRIK editor Stevan Dojčinović.

Pištaljka journalist Snežana Đurić was also sued for her work. She was sued by the Secretary General of the Rowing Federation of Serbia, Vladimir Antić, after an article appeared about irregularities in the management of the association, pointed out by a whistleblower. In the lawsuit received by the court on April 26, Antić also demanded a prison sentence for the journalist, as his photo was published along with the text downloaded from the official website of the Rowing Federation of Serbia and signed. In addition to a prison sentence for the crime of “unauthorized publication and display of files, portraits and videos of other people”, the lawsuit also demands a criminal conviction of the journalist for insult and payment of a fine, as well as compensation for “suffered mental pain due to the violation of honor and reputation”.

The Association of Independent Journalists of Serbia has long warned that growing hostility towards independent journalists is creating a dangerous working environment. It stresses that physical attacks like the one against Cvijić are only a matter of time.

We call on the relevant institutions to investigate the aggression, Cvijic and other unresolved attacks on journalists. The chain of impunity for violence against journalists must be broken. Furthermore, we call on Serbian institutions to launch thorough investigations into legal threats and develop effective measures against harassment complaints, building on the EU Directive and the Council of Europe Recommendation on SLAPPs.

SafeJournalists Network: Journalists Association of Kosovo, Journalists Association of Macedonia, Journalists Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian Journalists Association, Association of Independent Journalists of Serbia, Media Union of Montenegro

The Coalition for Media Freedom: the Media Association, the Association of Online Media (AOM), the Independent Journalists Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press”, the Slavko Curuvija Foundation and the Branch Trade Union for Culture, Art and Media “Nezavisnost”

Rapid response to media freedom: The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), OBC Transeuropa (OBCT), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), International Press Institute (IPI), ARTICLE 19 Europe