On Monday, Serbian state TV (RTS) staff joined the student protest in Belgrade by blocking traffic outside the RTS headquarters.
English
28. jan 2025.
State TV staff joins Monday’s student protest in Belgrade
English
28. jan 2025.
Serbia: full support to journalists on strike to defend public interest
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today gave its full support to the Serbian journalists’ organisations which have called for a general strike to take part in the action of “general civil disobedience” organised by Serbian students following the tragic accident at the Novi Sad train station, killing 15 people. The EFJ denounces in particular the threats made by the Serbian Minister of Information and Telecommunications Dejan Ristić against the Serbian Coalition for Media Freedom.
English
23. jan 2025.
Serbian pro-regime tabloids deleting offensive articles
The Cenzolovka media freedom watchdog portal said that Serbian pro-regime tabloids are deleting articles in which they attacked the student protesters in an effort to avoid being shut down.
English
15. jan 2025.
#IFJBlog: REM, a nightmare for Serbian media
"He who controls the media controls the mind". This catchy quote is from Noam Chomsky, a US professor and intellectual, renowned linguist and social critic. It well describes life in Serbia nowadays. At stake in Serbia today is the independence of the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Media (REM), specifically its Council, which is in the process of re-appointment and whose members are to be selected by the Parliament.
English
18. dec 2024.
Serbia used spyware to hack phones of journalists
Less than a week after the publication of our joint appeal to the EU to take urgent EU-wide measures, such as stricter regulation of spyware exports and use, new spyware abuse scandal erupts in Serbia: Serbian intelligence services and police have used spyware and other digital tools to hack the phones of journalists and illegally surveil them, Amnesty International said in a report published on Monday.
English
31. okt 2024.
Impunity: Governments must be held accountable for targeting journalists, says IFJ
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) insists that national governments are held accountable when journalists are killed or targeted across the world, in particular those in Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, and Syria as a result of the war in Gaza. The appeal comes on 2 November, the 10th anniversary of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
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25. okt 2024.
Statement by Member States of the CoD Governing Council regarding Belarusian pro-democracy activist Andrei Gnyot
We, the undersigned members of the Community of Democracies Governing Council, express deep concern over the request for extradition of Belarusian filmmaker and activist Mr. Andrei Gnyot from Serbia. Extradition of democratic activists to the autocratic Minsk regime, which notoriously violates international law, including human rights, undermines the democratic principles enshrined in the Warsaw Declaration, and is incompatible with adherence to the rules-based international order.
English
15. okt 2024.
Serbian judge’s lawsuits set to chill press freedom
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expresses grave concern regarding the legal threats facing the Serbian investigative news organization KRIK and its journalists. These abusive legal actions include demands for imprisonment and bans from journalism. We stand with the journalists on trial, and urge Serbia to implement anti-SLAPP safeguards to protect independent media.
English
11. okt 2024.
No justice for journalists targeted by Israel despite strong evidence of war crime (VIDEO)
A year on, there is still no accountability following the October 13, 2023, targeted Israeli attack that killed Issam Abdallah and injured six journalists in southern Lebanon
English
09. okt 2024.
What’s your media job: how Predrag Blagojevic built and left Južne vesti
From building a prominent anti-corruption outlet to burning out and leaving Serbia
English
30. avg 2024.
Tabloidi objavili da je pokrenut sistem „Pronađi me“, MUP demantovao
Večeras, nešto pre 22 časa, na sajtovima tabloida Telegraf i Alo pojavila se vest da je aktiviran sistem "Pronađi me" i da se traga za devetogodišnjim detetom koja je duboko uznemirala javnost. Za N1 potvrđeno je iz MUP-a da sistem nije aktiviran, a tu informaciju potvrdio je i Igor Jurić.
English
07. avg 2024.
Women Press Freedom Condemns Government Smear Campaign Against Tamara Skrozza
Women Press Freedom offers its full support to FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza, who is facing a coordinated defamation campaign from media outlets closely linked to the Serbian government. Allegations claim that Skrozza supported the assassination of senior Serbian officials during the uprising against former President Slobodan Milosevic. Government minister Dejan Ristic has received criticism for allegedly backing the smear campaign against the journalist. This recent attack is part of a trend of harassment and defamation by pro-government tabloids, with similar incidents targeting her in 2018 and 2016. Skrozza intends to take legal action against the media responsible for spreading these falsehoods. We strongly condemn Minister Ristic's actions and reject the unfounded accusations against Skrozza. We call for a public apology and accountability from those involved in the campaign against the journalist.
English
31. jul 2024.
Escalation of attacks on journalists
Statement of the journalist section of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists
English
31. jul 2024.
Journalists’ associations, opposition condemn media campaign against Skrozza
Serbian journalists’ associations and opposition condemned the media campaign launched against journalist and Fonet news agency senior editor Tamara Skrozza.
English
18. jul 2024.
Surge in SLAPPs Hits Serbia’s Independent Media Hard
Intimidatory lawsuits intended to silence journalists and media freedom activists by draining their resources have proliferated in Serbia, where there is no specific legislation to curb aggressive litigation by the rich and powerful.
English
25. jun 2024.
Solidarity with the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation in their quest for justice
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition partners stand firm 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.
English
20. jun 2024.
Serbia: KRIK journalists facing SLAPPs after publishing the profile of Judge Dušanka Đorđević in database
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.
English
15. jun 2024.
How Serbia’s CINS Pushes Investigative Journalism Outside the State Media ‘Bubble’
In November 2023, campaigns for snap parliamentary elections in Serbia were in full swing. At a large call center in the capital, Belgrade, more than 100 people telephoned citizens to canvas support for the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) — co-founded by Serbia’s current president, Aleksandar Vučić — which has been in power since 2012 and holds a strong grip over the country.
English
13. jun 2024.
Journalists harassed, obstructed, attacked in Serbia’s election period
Serbian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent attacks against journalists covering elections, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday.
English
11. jun 2024.
Statement by Jelena Ćuruvija, Honorary president of the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation: The truth about my father’s murder is too difficult for our political reality. It is easier to threaten me and forbid me to know the truth
My father has been gone for 25 years. It seems we are compelled to adopt such phrasing. To say “he is no longer here” as if he had simply vanished on his own, to avoid reiterating that he was murdered, executed, liquidated..., says Jelena Ćuruvija, daughter of the murdered journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, regarding the lawsuit by former State Security Service official Milan Radonjić against the foundation which she founded and of which she is the honorary president.