IPI says letter to Serbian President, PM expresses concern over attacks on KRIK

KRIK and several NGOs were verbally attacked, including veiled threats, by ruling party MPs in open parliament session on several occassions.

The letter to President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic was signed by ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited, the International Press Institute (IPI), OBC Transeuropa, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)/

“The The muted response from government leaders was the main catalyst for four of the nine non-state members of the newly-established Working Group for the Security and Protection of Journalists to withdraw, undermining its work and posing questions over trust in the body,” the IPI said in a press release.

“We reiterate our call on the Serbian authorities to take the necessary steps to put a stop to this ongoing threat against these and other independent outlets in Serbia, as well as to sanction such discrediting tactics and threats by all institutional means possible. This is more necessary now than ever, following reports that five of the nine non-state members of the Working Group for the Security and Protection of Journalists have stepped down from the group just three months after its establishment due to the state’s apparent unwillingness to engage with this important threat” the letter said.

“We fear that, in a climate of endemic impunity for attacks against journalists, this smear campaign, if left unchecked, could invite further threats and acts of violence against KRIK and provide cover for police interference and persecution,” it said and added that the fact that ruling party officials continued their attacks “has had significant implications for the Serbian Government’s commitment to media freedom and the protection of at-risk journalists and media workers”.

It said that the MFRR fact-finding mission in January and February 2021 found alarming numbers of verbal and physical attacks and harassment against journalists often perpetrated by public authorities, in particular politicians and police.

“We call on the Serbian authorities to meaningfully engage with journalists and media workers, journalists’ associations and unions, and civil society and to implement its commitments to improve the safety of journalists, media workers and outlets. This includes a full-throated high-level condemnation of the smear campaign against KRIK and other independent outlets in Serbia and immediately undertaking all necessary steps to stop and sanction these discrediting tactics and threats by all institutional means possible,” the letter said.

Copies of the letter were forwarded to other Serbian government officials, Public Prosecutor’s office and the head of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors as well as European Commission, Council of Europe, OSCE and European Parliament officials.