English  

21. avg 2025.

#IFJBlog: Justice for missing journalists Slavuj and Perenić

Piše Jelena L. Petković
IZVOR IFJ

Can we commemorate the victims of crimes of the past, even as we turn a blind eye to the crimes against journalists of the present? This is the fundamental question. The answer will determine our future. On that hot and sticky August morning, the 21st of the month, 1998, Radio Priština journalists Đuro Slavuj from Dvor on the Una and Ranko Perenić from Lipljan went to the Sveti Vrači monastery in Zočište, in western Kosovo, to report on the return of kidnapped monks. They have been missing ever since.  

English  

15. avg 2025.

Media organizations on attacks on journalists: The red line has long been crossed, what’s next?

IZVOR FoNet, N1

Journalistic and media organizations from Serbia and the region strongly condemned the attacks on journalists and media workers during protests, noting that numerous physical assaults and destruction of equipment were recorded at the Wednesday evening protest, including six incidents involving police officers, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS/NUNS) said on Thursday.

English  

24. jul 2025.

The president’s call to lynch Veran Matić is an act of political desperation and a brutal message against the rule of law

Civil society warns of increasingly dangerous smear campaigns against media workers, the consequences of which can seriously threaten their safety. These attacks come from the highest public positions in Serbia. President Vučić's statement, which demands that Veran Matić apologize to the people who were accused of murdering journalist Slavko Ćuruvija and "take them a bottle of wine", represents an unequivocal and dangerous political message: this kind of targeting and calling for revenge against those who fight for truth and justice is once again allowed in Serbia.

English  

22. jul 2025.

The journalist section of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists strongly condemns the statement of President Aleksandar Vučić targeting Veran Matić

Journalists and media associations, members of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists (SRG), condemn the statement of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, which threatens the safety of Veran Matić, member of the SRG and Chairman of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).

English  

22. jul 2025.

Matić: Vučić’s statement is intimidation, an attempt to prevent me defending journalists from threats and attacks

Autor Perica Gunjić

President Aleksandar Vučić said that those who were "convicted because of Veran Matić" should be erased from the records, and that he should apologize to them. Matić sees the president's statement as giving the green light for all those accused of attacking and killing journalists to "turn to him to pay for that." That is why he asked the police to assess his safety.

English  

14. jul 2025.

Serbia: Media freedom continues to decline at alarming speed, EU must take action

IZVOR EFJ

The undersigned journalists and media freedom organisations are profoundly appalled by the new attacks against journalists across Serbia, many of which are perpetrated by state representatives and law enforcement authorities. The situation of emergency of media freedom in Serbia – as assessed by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) during its April solidarity mission – has not only persisted but significantly deteriorated at alarming speed, despite our repeated warnings and recommendations. 

English  

06. jun 2025.

#IFJBlog: The case of Dada Vujasinović and the conspiracy of silence in Serbia

IZVOR IFJ

What if the dogs of war kill you and then fake it as if you had committed suicide? What if a dirty machine was used to cast a shadow over your truthful articles to prove that something was mentally wrong with you? It would stick. You are a woman. What if the blood-thirsty hellhounds of the past, so alive among us, set up a scenario where the only outcome is that the investigation of your death becomes obsolete by the passage of time?

English  

06. jun 2025.

European Federation of Journalists on Elective General Assembly in Budapest Adopted Resolution on the State of Play of Media Freedom in Serbia

EFJ
IZVOR NUNS

On 3 June 2025, the EFJ General Assembly adopted a resolution expressing deep concern over the increasing number of attacks, threats, and pressure on journalists in Serbia. The resolution was proposed by the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Trade Union of Culture, Arts, and Media “Nezavisnost.”

English  

21. maj 2025.

Veran Matić – We must protect innocence from abuse of power

Author Veran Matić

Amendments to laws concerning journalism have been expected for years. Working groups, inclusive, were formed. Then, they were disbanded, and the ministry wrote its own versions of the changes. Afterwards, the ministry invited representatives of journalists' associations and media associations to an urgent meeting, to agree with the ministry's visions. When asked by the members of the working groups, who wrote the texts of changes that are completely different from what was discussed at the working groups, they were answered that the proposals came from Brussels.

English  

19. maj 2025.

Serbia: War on journalists continues

IZVOR IPI

This article is part of a series published by IPI and written by expert guest contributors from across Europe on different threats facing media freedom and independent journalism. This article focuses on the recent increase of pressure and violence against journalists in Serbia amidst the government response to nationwide student-led protests. The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of IPI.

English  

02. maj 2025.

Serbia: Media freedom in a state of emergency

IZVOR MFRR

On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today shares alarming findings about the deteriorating state of press and media freedom in Serbia. The MFRR solidarity mission to Belgrade and Novi Sad, conducted on 7-9 April, alongside ongoing monitoring, revealed a state of emergency – one that demands urgent attention and action from national authorities and the EU.

English  

13. apr 2025.

The government on the offensive against the journalists and the media

Author Veran Matić

In just one day, a series of dangerous attacks on journalists and the media took place, which will increasingly characterize the life of journalists in Serbia. In the daily repression in which we live and work, these are no longer isolated incidents but a rule that justifiably causes great concern.