Criminal complaint filed against Culture Committee chair over REM

“According to the law, which took effect on November 4, 2023, the mandate of the current REM Council members ends today. The process to select new members should have started by August 4, at the latest. Due to this failure to implement the Law on Electronic Media, Serbia now has no functioning authority to make decisions, oversee, or enforce laws in electronic media,” reads a press release signed by the Slavko Curuvija Foundation, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), and the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA).

The organizations said that, in recent days, as in previous years, there have been no consequences for clear violations of the Law on Electronic Media, the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, and professional journalism standards on national and cable TV channels.

“REM’s long-standing deliberate choice to ignore media law violations, while prioritizing the interests of the ruling party and allied media moguls over the public interest, led to the decision to replace the entire Council. By neglecting to follow this legal requirement, Committee Chair Nevena Djuric has effectively dismantled the institution of the media regulator, i.e., the REM, as the authority responsible for overseeing electronic media in Serbia,” reads the press release.

“Through her failure to perform her official duty, that is, by neglecting to initiate the legal procedure for electing new REM Council members, the Committee Chair has gravely violated the imperative provisions of Law on Electronic Media, thereby abusing the entire state apparatus to allow individuals from the current REM Council to gain financial and non-financial benefits to which they are not entitled, as their mandate legally expires on November 4, 2024. In this way, Nevena Djuric has caused harm to others, seriously infringed upon the rights, and compromised the public interest in the Republic of Serbia,” states the criminal complaint.

The organizations called on the prosecutor’s office to promptly initiate criminal proceedings and thereby protect the integrity of the Serbian Parliament and Serbia’s legal system.