MFRR: 83 cases of media freedom violations recorded in Serbia in 2024

Compared to 49 documented press freedom violations in 2023, most incidents were verbal attacks (71.1 percent), involving at least 14 death threats, reported the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS).

Independent media and critical voices face constant threats for critical reporting. Recent cases involved the Slavko Curuvija Foundation which received death threats online, referring to the 1999 unpunished murder of journalist Slavko Curuvija. The hostility towards the media was also reflected in numerous hateful graffiti messages that were also aimed at television network Nova S, discovered in Belgrade.

Journalists Ana Lalic Hegedis and Dinko Gruhonjic have faced an unprecedented level of death threats. Both were harassed online and at home following their participation in the Rebedu festival in Dubrovnik and the distortion of their comments aimed at portraying the journalists as enemies of the state. In the context of the June elections, Gruhonjic was further targeted by leaflets near polling stations portraying him as a political opponent, a discourse fuelled by Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.

Verbal abuses attributed to public officials remain a major concern with eleven cases documented in 2024. In November, Danas’ journalist Vojin Radovanovic was insulted and forcibly ordered to delete footage by Belgrade city councilor Slobodan Solevic. Other incidents involved Balkan media outlets, including Belgrade’s N1, Nova RS and the magazine Slobodna Bosna. These outlets were harshly criticized by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at a press conference for their coverage of the Rio Tinto protest against the government’s approval of lithium ore mining.

FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza’s comments about the 2000 Belgrade demonstration that led to the fall of Slobodan Milosevic were distorted by the news portals informer. rs and novosti.rs. Skrozza was accused of “hate speech” by Minister Dejan Ristic. This smear campaign highlighted how pro-government media and officials can use dangerous rhetoric to silence and discredit journalists, often disregarding safety risks. In one case, the government’s smear campaign reached France with the French press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) targeted over its investigation into RT Balkan’s links to the Kremlin.

MFRR documented 14 cases of physical attacks, most of them initiated by private individuals. In November, the deadly collapse of the roof of the Novi Sad railway station led to nationwide blockades of universities demanding an investigation into the incident. At least ten journalists were assaulted by demonstrators. Of the nine who were verbally abused, five Informer TV journalists were targeted. In this context of massive attacks, Serbian President Vucic’s statement accusing the Serbian state TV (RTS) of putting pressure on the prosecution to investigate the incident and inciting a hunt against the government was particularly dangerous.

Two instances of physical assaults by police/state security were documented. The most alarming was that of journalist Ljubomir Stefanovic, who was reportedly abducted by the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency for hours at the Vozdovac police station for having publicly criticized Serbian President Vucic. His phone confiscated at the time was hacked, as well as journalist Slavisa Milanov’s phone in February during questioning at Pirot’s police station.

Amid growing threats to journalists’ safety, Amnesty International revealing invasive surveillance of journalists and sources by Serbian Intelligence and police, using NoviSpy spyware prompted the MFRR and the SafeJournalists Network to call for stronger accountability mechanisms for state surveillance practices in line with the newly adopted European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).

Of the eight legal cases documented by the MFRR, three were initiated by the judiciary and involve the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK), which is continually harassed with lawsuits as a means of intimidation.

Between January and December 2024, MFRR’s monitoring database, Mapping Media Freedom (MapMF), documented 1,548 press freedom violations (alerts) impacting 2,567 media-related persons or entities located in EU member states or candidate countries – an alarming increase compared to the 1,153 violations recorded in 2023.

See the full report here.