Sever: Serbian govt found way to fund tabloids, implementation of new media laws dismal

“I warned about the reduction in project co-financing, which has been cut by about seven million euros across all three levels of government compared to last year. Regardless of the selection process for funding committee members, the impression is that still sitting on these committees are people who distribute money along party lines,” Sever told the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS/IJAS).

She said it is evident that the Serbian government “has found a way to finance tabloids,” and that the mechanisms for holding media accountable for breaking the law are ineffective.

She also stressed that the safety of journalists remains a critical issue, with a high level of impunity for attacks. While the number of recorded pressures on media and journalists has dropped, the number of threats and physical attacks is already at the same level as last year.

“I raised the issue of the assault on (Radar weekly journalist) Vuk Cvijic and the fact that the prosecutor’s office has been waiting for a medical report for three months. I said this is a clear sign that the system is not working, and how dangerous that is in a country where the system failed to protect (Serbian journalist and newspaper publisher, murdered in 1999) Slavko Curuvija. I also reminded him that the man accused of threatening (journalist and Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina President) Ana Lalic has fled,” said Sever.

The EFJ president added that she expressed full support for journalist Tamara Skrozza during the meeting and requested that activist and journalist Andrei Gnyot not be extradited to Belarus.

Sever said she also mentioned the organized campaign of SLAPP lawsuits against the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) and the Slavko Curuvija Foundation during the meeting.

Speaking about the implementation of new media laws in Serbia, Sever described the situation as “dismal.”

“The action plan for the implementation of the Media Strategy is a year and a half behind schedule. The minister said he is trying to speed up the process, but that the responsibility ultimately lies with the Serbian government,” Sever told NUNS/IJAS.