On 11 August 2024, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić verbally abused journalists from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo during a press conference in Belgrade on the occasion of the rally against the Serbian government’s approval of lithium ore mining in Serbia. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the SafeJournalists network in expressing its full solidarity with the journalists who have been targeted by President Vučic. We urge President Vučić and the authorities to refrain from this blatant pattern of harassing journalists or media outlets for critical reporting and instead ensure respect for the fundamental guarantees of media freedom.…

Since 29 July 2024, FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza has been subjected to a coordinated defamation campaign by media outlets closely aligned with the Serbian government. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their affiliates in Serbia (NUNS, UNS), in standing in solidarity with Skrozza and in condemning these smearing methods aimed at publicly discrediting the journalist with false information. The defamatory articles first appeared on the news portals informer.rs and novosti.rs on 29 July, followed by further dissemination through primetime news on Pink Television and other media close to the government. Tamara Skrozza was falsely accused of stating…

Serbian authorities should not extradite Belarusian journalist Andrey Gniot to face criminal charges in Belarus and release him immediately. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), its affiliates in Serbia (UNS, NUNS, Sinos and Nezavisnost) and several journalists’ organisations in Serbia (Association of Independent Electronic Media, Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina) call on the Serbian Minister of Justice, Maja Popović, to oppose his extradition. Serbian authorities detained Gniot upon his arrival in the country on October 30, 2023, based on a September 21 Interpol arrest warrant issued by the Belarusian Interpol bureau, for alleged tax evasion charges. In December 2023,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition partners in standing in solidarity with the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, which has unwaveringly campaigned against the continued impunity for the 1999 murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. New legal action brought by two of the individuals acquitted of Ćuruvija’s murder now threatens to undermine the foundation’s campaign for justice. For over a decade, the Foundation has sought justice for Ćuruvija, an esteemed editor and publisher who was shot in front of his home in Belgrade in 1999. Twenty years later, four former state security officers were…

The undersigned journalists and media freedom organisations condemn the legal actions filed by Judge Dušanka Đorđević and her husband against Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK), its editor-in-chief Stevan Dojčinović, and journalist Bojana Pavlović. The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition considers those legal actions as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), aiming at silencing KRIK for its investigative work. The SLAPPs are vexatious legal actions that are pursued as a means of harassing or intimidating journalists, media outlets, and other public watchdogs.  The lawsuits followed KRIK’s publication of Judge Dušanka Đorđević and her husband’s profile on the “Judge Who Judges”…

The SafeJournalists network, Media Freedom Rapid Response partners, and Coalition for Media Freedom condemn the ongoing attacks on journalists in Serbia. This growing pressure has been recently exemplified by a physical attack on journalist Vuk Cvijić, and the demand for prison sentences for the journalists of the media outlets KRIK and Pištaljka. We call on the authorities to prioritise addressing the rise in attacks against the press and to genuinely commit to improving the safety of journalists. Radar weekly journalist Vuk Cvijić was attacked on 29 May in Belgrade by Milan Lađević, co-owner of the publisher of the pro-government tabloid…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in demanding the immediate release of Andrey Gniot, a Belarusian journalist and pro-democracy activist who is being held in custody by Serbian authorities on politically motivated charges formulated by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. Since October, Serbian courts have been deliberating upon a request to deport Gniot to Belarus. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an independent trade union in exile, Gniot was arrested immediately upon his arrival to Serbia on October 30. He was detained based on an international arrest warrant…

The 2023 Report on the state of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Serbia was published on 15 March 2024, assessing the pressure experienced by media professionals in the country. Entitled “Behind the headlines: Threats, attacks and pressure on journalists in Serbia”, the research was conducted in collaboration with the Journalists Association of Serbia (UNS) and the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS), with the support of the European Union and Council of Europe, based on a survey of 130 journalists and media workers. The report presents the major challenges to the safety of Serbian journalists by examining…

Commemorating 25 years since the brutal murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, the European Federation of Journalists joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and the SafeJournalists Networkto condemn the continued impunity surrounding his assassination and demand accountability for all acts of violence committed against journalists in Serbia. The recent acquittal of security officers accused of Ćuruvija’s murder, as well as the escalating attacks against journalists in Novi Sad, underscore the urgent need for authorities to act and protect press freedom in Serbia. Ćuruvija, an esteemed editor and publisher, was fatally shot in front of his home in Belgrade on 11 April 1999.…

In a letter to Serbian authorities, the International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) joins partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in urging them to address death threats faced by journalists Ana Lalić Hegediš and Dinko Gruhonjić, in Serbia. We are deeply concerned that no decisive action has been taken to conduct a thorough investigation, arrest the perpetrators and provide the journalists with adequate protection. 

The escalation of threats and violence suffered by journalists in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, has reached an unprecedented level in the past fortnight. The undersigned organisations urge the Serbian authorities to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the persistent attacks on journalists and ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted accordingly.  In just ten days, no fewer than seven journalists have faced threats and assaults in the city of Novi Sad alone. Whether it is physical assaults, verbal abuse, online harassment or death threats, the ability of Serbian journalists to do their job is severely compromised and their safety is at…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the SafeJournalists Network and the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners in strongly condemning the behaviour of the local authorities in Indjija, Serbia, who forcibly removed the journalist Verica Marincic from the municipality building and prevented her from doing her job. We appeal to the competent authorities to investigate this incident in which the journalist was injured. The journalist of the In media portal from Indjija, Verica Marincic, was kicked out of the Indjija municipality building because she “wasn’t on the list” to monitor the conference regarding the residents’ protest against the abolition of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined the Safe Journalists Network (SJN) and other partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in deploring the Belgrade Court of Appeals’s decision to acquit the four suspects for the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. On Friday 2 February 2024, the Belgrade Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Special Department for Organized Crime of the High Court in Belgrade, and acquitted the four suspects for the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. This disappointing development constitutes a grave backslide to the fight against impunity and further undermines journalists’ safety. This final…

Hundreds protested in Belgrade today over a court ruling that acquitted four former intelligence officers jailed for the 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands in solidarity with the demonstrators gathered to demand an end to impunity. The protest was organised by the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, together with the EFJ affiliates in Serbia (UNS, NUNS, KUM Nezavisnost), NDNV, Media Association, AOM, Local Press and ANEM. An appeals court ruling published on Friday overturned the 2021 convictions and lengthy jail terms for four intelligence officers. The long long legal process has been marked by dramatic twists.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports the demonstration organised today at 2pm in front of the Belgrade Court of Appeal to denounce the outrageous acquittal of the alleged killers of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. We call on the Serbian authorities to put an end to impunity in this case. “The murder of journalist Slavko Curuvija, which was ordered and organised by the state, remains an unpunished crime, 25 years after it was committed and nine years after the start of the trial,” the Slavko Curuvija Foundation said, noting that the Court of Appeal acquitted four members of the State…

On 24 December, several journalists and media workers were targets of insults and physical violence while reporting on protests in Belgrade that objected to alleged  irregularities during general elections on 17 December. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) condemn the violent acts and urge the competent authorities to launch an immediate investigation. During the demonstrations, four attacks against journalists and media workers were recorded: three were perpetrated by law enforcement authorities, and one by a protester. The federations express consternation and outrage at those acts from the people whose exact mission is to defend and protect citizens.   Al Jazeera’s…