Serbia’s local elections on 2 June saw a surge in press freedom violations, with reporters being subjected to physical and verbal attacks and smear campaigns carried by tabloid media outlets. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the authorities to make every effort to arrest those responsible for the violence and to guarantee journalists’ safety.
English
05. jun 2024.
Serbia: Continued attacks against journalists must stop
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 prioritize addressing the rise in attacks against the press and to genuinely commit to improving the safety of journalists.
English
01. jun 2024.
Serbian Judge Sues KRIK Journalists for Publishing her Profile
A Belgrade judge and her husband have sued reporters of the Serbian investigative outlet and OCCRP partner KRIK for publishing her name and position in a database created in 2020 to enhance transparency within Serbia's judiciary and provide precise information to citizens about its functioning.
English
21. maj 2024.
New report highlights growing risk for environmental journalism
UNESCO published a report entitled “Press and planet in danger”, showcasing the trends and challenges of the safety of environmental journalists. It shows a spike in attacks over the last five years (2019-2023) with a 42% increase compared to the 2014-2018 period, making the situation more serious than ever.
English
10. maj 2024.
In Serbia, a ‘witch-hunt’ for journalists who don’t toe government line
“A real epidemic of attacks.” That’s the way Serbian journalist, advocate, and professor Dinko Gruhonjić characterized the state of press freedom in his country in a recent op-ed for the media-focused news site Cenzolovka. Gruhonjić faced severe online harassment after a doctored video in which he appears to praise a war criminal was circulated online in March.
English
11. apr 2024.
Safety and justice: demanding accountability for attacks against journalists in Serbia
Commemorating 25 years since the brutal murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, media freedom organizations unite to condemn continued impunity in this case and demand accountability for all acts of violence against journalists in Serbia.
English
11. apr 2024.
Safety and justice: demanding accountability for attacks against journalists in Serbia
Commemorating 25 years since the brutal murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, media freedom organisations unite to condemn continued impunity in this case and demand accountability for all acts of violence 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.
English
21. mar 2024.
Serbia: escalating threats and attacks against journalists in Novi Sad
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.
English
07. mar 2024.
8 March: IFJ stands with women journalists in Gaza
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Palestine, on 7 October, journalists and media workers have been specifically targeted. Women journalists have paid a particularly heavy price as women, reporters and mothers. On International Women’s Day, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Gender Council and all IFJ affiliates pay tribute to the courage of women journalists in Gaza and demand safety and the end of the war atrocities, including any form of gender-based violence against women.
English
14. feb 2024.
As Serbian Journalist’s Murder Goes Unpunished, Verdict Comes Under Scrutiny
BIRN’s analysis of the controversial acquittal verdict in the trial of four Serbian State Security operatives for the assassination of opposition journalist Slavko Curuvija shows how troublesome issues with evidence and witness testimony led the court to clear the defendants.
English
06. feb 2024.
Acquittal for state security officers linked to the assassination of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija
Nearly a quarter of a century ago, in April 1999, Slavko Ćuruvija was shot dead at the entrance to his apartment in Belgrade. After all these years, those responsible for the murder have not been held accountable for their actions. On 2 February, the Court of Appeals in Belgrade declared that, after a retrial, it has acquitted four Serbian state security officers of any involvement in the murder of the journalist.
English
06. feb 2024.
Serbia: hundreds protest acquittals in journalist’s murder
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.
English
06. feb 2024.
#IFJBlog- Serbia: Darkness and despair, return of the deep state
Eerie despair. No way out and no hope. The vicious hand of the 1990’s deep state continues to hold us in their grip. This is the situation in which the Serbian journalistic community finds itself after the publication on Friday 2 February of the Belgrade Court of Appeal’ final verdict acquitting the suspected murderers of Slavko Ćuruvija, journalist and publisher of Dnevni Telegraf and Evropljanin, who was killed in 1999.
English
06. feb 2024.
Slavko Ćuruvija: impunity of the deep state in the case of murdered journalists in Serbia
24 years after the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, the perpetrators are still unpunished in Serbia. Although there is finally progress and hopefully the case will be finally solved, impunity remains widespread
English
03. feb 2024.
Rights Groups, U.S. Assail Serbian Court’s Acquittal Of Ex-Intelligence Officers In 1999 Murder Of Journalist
Western nations, rights groups, family members, and opposition activists condemned a February 2 ruling by a Belgrade appeals court to acquit four former Serbian intelligence officers who had been convicted and imprisoned in the 1999 murder of a prominent journalist and government critic.
English
02. feb 2024.
Slavko Curuvija Foundation is shocked by the Court of Appeal verdict: A country not punishing murderers has no future
Slavko Curuvija Foundation is shocked by the Court of Appeal’s decision to set free former members of the State Security Service accused of the murder of Slavko Curuvija. This is a deeply disturbing judgment for family, friends, colleagues and followers of the journalist and publisher who was murdered because he had been publicly criticising the criminal regime of Slobodan Milosevic. This judgment is a clear sign that the state is not capable of fighting the darkest spots of its own services from the 1990s and that they continue to have a massive impact on the judiciary and political processes in Serbia.
English
01. feb 2024.
Serbia: media pillory for independent journalists
Verbal attacks and serious threats against two journalists from independent broadcasters, the Cenzolovka portal and even an NGO and a Belgrade court judge raise concerns about the climate of increasingly heavy repression in Serbia
English
12. jan 2024.
IPI call to action: The international community must act urgently to protect journalists, civilians in Gaza and the region
The IPI global network calls on the international community to take urgent and immediate action to ensure the safety of all journalists in Gaza and the region. We urge all states, including allies of Israel and Media Freedom Coalition members, to use all possible diplomatic means to hold Israel to its obligation to respect the rules of war, which requires states to protect journalists, as civilians, during times of armed conflict. The targeted and indiscriminate killing of journalists and civilians in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) must stop, and perpetrators must be held fully accountable for any violations of the Geneva Conventions and other international human rights treaties and obligations.
English
29. dec 2023.
Serbia: We condemn the attacks against journalists during protests in Belgrade
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 Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemn the violent acts and urge the competent authorities to launch an immediate investigation.
English
06. dec 2023.
Deus ex lex: The long and tortured road of Serbian media reform
“Lex non a rege est violanda,” – “The law must not be violated even by the king”, states a Latin legal maxim. But, in a recent saga over new media laws in Serbia it was never so much about the laws themselves as it was about those implementing them.