A group of regional and international journalist associations warned that the escalation of threats and violence experienced by journalists in the Serbian city of Novi Sad has reached “an unprecedented level,” and called on the Serbian authorities to conduct an investigation into these attacks and ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted accordingly.

In a joint statement they said that, in just ten days, seven journalists faced threats and assaults in the city of Novi Sad, starting with Radio 021, Tanjug and Kurir TV journalists who were verbally assaulted on 8 March 2024 when covering a demonstration supporting a mother whose three children were temporarily taken away from her by the Novi Sad Centre for Social Work, while N1 correspondent Ksenija Pavkov also received “numerous online insults and threats of physical violence” for her coverage of the demonstration.

“That same week, two other journalists and leaders of the Vojvodina Association of Independent Journalists (NDNV), Ana Lalic Hegedis and Dinko Gruhonjic, received thousands of online death threats sent via social media and email. Ana Lalic Hegedis has been the target of terrifying death threats including some of a sexual nature and insults, also directed at the NDNV she leads, for comments she made on nationalism at the Rebedu festival in Dubrovnik where she was invited as a panelist,” reads the statement.

It adds that journalist lecturer at Novi Sad University and program director of NDNV Dinko Gruhonjic has been “the target of a public lynching campaign including threats of physical violence” since the 14 March 2024 publication of a video montage with excerpts from his performance at the Rebedu festival in Dubrovnik last year.

“The montage was manipulated to give the impression that Dinko was expressing his satisfaction at sharing a name with the Ustasha criminal Dinko Sakic. NDNV reported these threats to the high-tech crime prosecutor’s office and, for some of them, provided the details of the perpetrators who signed with their names,” said the associations.

Criminal complaints have been filed against Gruhonjic and Lalic for allegedly inciting racial, religious, and national hatred and intolerance. According to the NDNV program director, there are serious reasons to believe that the person who filed the complaints is “connected to members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.”

“We join the SafeJournalists Network in calling on officials to refrain from targeting the media in Serbia. Their hostile rhetoric legitimises and normalises verbal and physical violence against journalists and media workers. We urge authorities to guarantee a safe environment for journalists, allowing them to work without fearing for their lives, and to put an end to the unacceptable culture of impunity by systematically investigating attacks and complaints,” said the associations.

The statement is signed by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), OBC Transeuropa (OBCT), International Press Institute (IPI), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and SafeJournalists Network, which comprises the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (IJAS), Association of BH Journalists (BHJ), Croatian Journalists Association (CJA), Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM).