UNS: Pressures on journalists in 2023 doubled since 2022

The Association said 21 cases of pressure on journalists were reported in 2022, this number increased to 52 in 2023, while the number of reported threats against journalists dropped from 140 in 2022 to 131 in 2023.

The UNS said that it also recorded in its database 32 threats, 25 cases of preventing journalists from doing their job, five assaults on property and one case of breach of privacy, adding that though the number of threats slightly dropped, they were more intense.

The Association described as “particularly worrying” the fact that there were three physical assaults on journalists during the recent protests in Belgrade organized by the Serbia Against Violence coalition, and that police officers were the assailants in two of these cases.

The UNS noted that its has condemned all threats, physical and verbal assaults on journalists and media workers that took place during the protests, and that it has called on the police and the prosecutor’s office to investigate all circumstances surrounding these events.