The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the undersigned organisations raise alarm over the spiral of violence against journalists in Serbia that has intensified over the past weeks. Since our international mission to Belgrade in March, online death threats and threats of sexual violence targeting independent media professionals and their families are flourishing with near-total impunity.  The undersigned organisations urgently reiterate our calls on Serbian authorities to put an end to the climate of impunity by prosecuting those who attack media professionals, refraining from the use of dangerous rhetoric, and publicly denouncing any attempt to silence public interest reporting.  While…

Record levels of physical violence against journalists, death threats and online smear campaigns, entrenched impunity, and tight political control over the media landscape – media freedom in Serbia is in a deepening crisis with a rapidly closing window for independent journalism to operate. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with its partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform, today presents a report which outlines the deteriorating situation for media freedom and safety of journalists in Serbia. The report is a result of an international mission to Belgrade that took…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate in Serbia, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), in strongly condemning the vandalism, on Saturday night, in Novi Sad, of the car belonging to David Gruhonjić, the son of our colleague Dinko Gruhonjić, NDNV program director, who has been continuously targeted by the Serbian regime. The severe damage to the vehicle represents yet another in a series of security threats that cannot be viewed separately from the long-standing, organized campaign of persecution to which Dinko Gruhonjić has been exposed due to his journalistic, academic, and public engagement. The EFJ and NDVN…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned media freedom and journalist organisations in standing in full solidarity with the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, which has been ordered to pay over one million dinars (€8,812)  in damages in a defamation case brought by those acquitted of the murder of the Serbian editor and newspaper founder, Slavko Ćuruvija. For 27 years, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation has fought for justice for the assassination of Ćuruvija, who was gunned down outside his apartment in Belgrade in 1999.  On 15 May 2026, the Second Basic Court in Belgrade ruled that the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation…

EU Member States must show political leadership and join calls for the suspension of EU funds to Serbia to prevent the spiral of violence against journalists from escalating into deadly attacks, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and nine undersigned organisations said on Friday in a series of letters sent to a group of Ministers for European Affairs across Europe. The organisations highlight the shocking numbers of physical, legal and online attacks against journalists as recorded on international monitoring platforms since November 2024, a level of persistent violence against media that is rare in any EU member state or candidate country. Since the…

Twenty-seven years after the assassination of Serbian newspaper publisher and editor Slavko Ćuruvija in Belgrade, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned media freedom organisations to mark the upcoming anniversary of the killing by lamenting the complete impunity for those responsible for one of the most serious attacks on journalism in the country’s history. Our organisations, which were part of a recent international media freedom mission to Serbia organised by the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), have monitored the media freedom crisis in Serbia intensively in the…

At 7 pm today, N1 Television employees and the Coalition for Media Freedom, including the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) and Nezavisnost, will gather outside the building to show solidarity with Igor Božić, who was recently removed from his position as News Director. Igor Božić is currently unassigned pending a final decision on his status by the Management Board.  The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Serbian members in strongly condemning the dismissal of Igor Božić who has worked tirelessly in recent years to ensure independent news coverage, despite mounting political pressure. His eviction which follows the…

Media freedom in Serbia remains trapped in a downward spiral amidst record levels of physical violence against journalists, death threats and online smear campaigns, alarming levels of impunity, and tight political control over the media landscape, a coalition of media freedom organisations concluded. Following a two-day mission to Belgrade on 26-27 March, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) assessed that the past year had seen a continued deterioration, leaving the country in a prolonged and worsening press freedom…

During the local elections in Serbia on 29 March, multiple obstructions and physical attacks on journalists by unknown individuals were documented in 10 cities and municipalities, despite them being identified as press. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) strongly condemn the violence inflicted on journalists and urgently call on law enforcement and prosecutors to promptly identify and arrest those responsible for these attacks. Among the journalists violently assaulted in Bajina Bašta was Darko Gligorijevic, a journalist for Zoomer. Unknown individuals first tried to take his mobile phone, after which he was hit in the head…

Over the past month, the Centre for Social Stability, a non-governmental organisation known for targeting independent journalists, intensified its ongoing smear campaign against Veran Matić, President of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and member of the Permanent Working Group on the Safety of Journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns these shameful attacks and calls on Serbian authorities to respond promptly by launching an investigation into the Center for Social Stability. On 18 March 2026, the Centre for Social Stability incited hostility towards ANEM President  Veran Matić on its social media, with a declaration dangerously echoing…

On 26-27 March 2026, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will join its partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, to conduct a mission to Serbia. Against the backdrop of ongoing challenges to media pluralism and increasing attacks and pressure on independent journalists – particularly in the wake of nationwide protests following the Novi Sad tragedy on 1 November 2024 – as highlighted by the recently launched 2025 Europe Press Freedom report of the CoE Platform partners, and the 2025  MFRR Monitoring…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners today in raising alarm over a recent wave of bot-driven cyber attacks targeting the social media accounts of Serbian media outlets. Our organisations warn that the dozen recorded incidents are not isolated cases but part of a broader pattern of coordinated attacks on the free flow of news and independent information in Serbia, which remains in a period of media freedom crisis. Between 8 and 30 January, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) recorded at least 12 coordinated bot attacks against Instagram accounts of independent…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in expressing renewed concern over the undemocratic process by which the National Assembly conducted the latest election for the Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), Serbia’s key media regulator. After a delay of more than one year, the National Assembly last week appointed eight members to the REM Council, including four candidates seen by media experts as independent. However, it failed to approve the ninth appointee representing the country’s national minorities after the ruling majority abstained, drawing criticism of obstruction…

On 29 October 2025, the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) was falsely accused once again of ‘supporting’ the ongoing anti-corruption protests by the newly formed, pro-government Association of Journalists of Serbia (ANS) and tabloids. This dangerous accusation, publicly backed up by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, stemmed from NUNS fulfilling its core mission: providing safety equipment to journalists reporting on protests amid the increased threats and violence they have faced for almost a year.  The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) strongly condemn this deliberate attempt to discredit our members’ unwavering support for journalists, as well as President…

In the lead-up to the one-year anniversary of the Novi Sad railway canopy collapse, which killed 16 people on 1 November 2024, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) spoke with Božidar Milovac, a Serbian student and journalist from Novi Sad. While Milovac usually reports on politics and social issues for several media outlets, he has spent the past year primarily covering the massive anti-corruption protests that erupted after the tragedy. These protests have been marked by widespread attacks and violence against journalists. Milovac is no exception: he has been hindered in his work, including verbal intimidation, and had his phone…

On 1 November last year, sixteen people were killed when the Novi Sad Canopy Railway collapsed. This tragedy sparked nationwide protests against government corruption that continue to this day. While Serbian prosecutors have eventually filed indictments against thirteen individuals in relation to the collapse, protesters demanding justice and journalists reporting on the protests and the response by authorities continue to face severe violence and repression, mostly at the hands of public officials and law enforcement. In the lead-up to the first anniversary of this fatal incident, we, the partners of the Council of Europe’s Platform to Promote the Protection of…