Harlem Désir, the OSCE Freedom of Media representative, denounced the threats N1 Serbia journalists had been receiving, adding public figures should not create an unfavourable environment for the media because it could lead to severe intimidation, the FoNet news agency reported.

In a letter, Désir mentioned a deputy of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party headed by President Aleksandar Vucic who said N1 “recognised Kosovo’s independence” what triggered a wave of insults on N1 reporters as being “traitors” and “anti-Serbs.”

Désir called on Serbia’s authorities to identify and sanction those responsible for the threats and to secure the journalists to do their job without intimidation and hazard.

Before the OSCE, the journalist organisations and some opposition parties in Serbia condemned the attacks on N1, and the only official denouncement so far came from the Ministry of Culture and Information.