Anti-N1 graffiti on government buildings: Officials silent, journalists concerned

N1 TV contacted the Ministry back in March to inquire about the graffiti and its potential removal, but there has been no reply to date.

Throughout Belgrade’s city center, black spray-painted messages declaring “N1 Evil” have become a common sight.

“This is actually incredibly dangerous for all N1 TV journalists, because there are messages labeling N1 as evil all over the city center. This is openly targeting their newsroom staff,” said Tamara Filipovic Stevanovic of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS/IJAS)

In some places the graffiti authors have shown more creativity, labeling N1 as a “plague,” “Serbian-haters,” or “menagerie,” still, the word “evil” remains the predominant label, appearing on everything from walls to planters.

The question remains: who is behind this campaign against N1 instead of instead of responding to legitimate questions by reporters?

“I don’t remember ever seeing this kind of evil. The evil will eat you, my dear colleague, friend, sir, whatever you want me to call you. Evil will eat you up. What kind of evil have you turned into,” Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic said on April 16.

N1 TV is not the only target. Some graffiti also targets Nova TV, which is labeled as the “Nova SS Division.” Nova TV news director Slobodan Georgiev believes the spray painters are directly connected to the ruling party, and that they have chosen graffiti over leaflets and posters to target critical voices. He believes this is the case because graffiti lasts longer, given how slow authorities are to remove it.

“These are all Radicals. In my opinion, Radicals are in power…It is a communication of insults, slander, threats, and abuse. That’s what it is, that is who they are. They could not function any other way,” said Georgiev.

While Georgiev advocates documenting these incidents without giving them undue attention, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia warns that such targeting often has serious consequences.

“Take what happened to our colleague Dinko Gruhonjic. They sprayed graffiti outside his home, and then he was attacked in the street by someone who branded him an Ustasha - just as they are branding you 'evil' now,” Filipovic Stevanovic said.