Prosecutor's offices in Serbia initiated 71 cases in the first six months of this year due to threats and attacks on journalists. This is an increase of 45 percent compared to the same period last year, which was a record for the number of attacks on media workers, she announced this Tuesday, July 14. Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).
Only in one of these cases did the prosecutor's office file an indictment, and in 17 cases did it reject the criminal complaint or make an official note that there were no grounds for initiating criminal proceedings.
Almost complete impunity for attacks on journalists
The ANEMA report singled out several particularly brutal attacks.
"When it comes to physical attacks on female journalists, journalists and photojournalists during the local elections in the vicinity of Bor and in Bajina Bašta, evidentiary actions are still being carried out, including medical examinations. Members of the police authorities have not yet identified the perpetrators, despite numerous video recordings, attached evidence on which some of the attackers are clearly visible and whose identities are known," the statement said.
It is added that in the case of the threatening letter received by N1 journalist Danica Vučenić, a DNA analysis was carried out, and that the response for international legal assistance sent to Slovenia, from where the threatening letter was sent, is awaited. This case was also written about Time.
photo: m. jankovicVeran Matić
Member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, President of the ANEM Board of Directors and Coordinator of the Safe Line for Journalists Veran Matić he stated that the escalation of violence against all those who think differently is worrying, and that no one has yet been held accountable for threats and attacks on journalists this year.
"When the data for the past two and a half years is collected, out of a total of 279 open cases in the prosecutor's offices, only in ten cases was a judicial measure imposed. This means that only 3,6 percent of the cases were resolved, which clearly shows that impunity for attacks on journalists is almost complete," says Matić.
The announcement adds that since the beginning of the year, four journalists have been forced to leave Serbia due to threatened security, and thus the total number of media workers living in exile today has increased to six.
"We express solidarity with our colleagues and once again call on the political leadership of Serbia to stop targeting, defaming, insulting and endangering the safety of journalists and newsrooms. We also call on the competent institutions, above all the police and the prosecutor's office, which are funded by all citizens of this country, to effectively detect the perpetrators and prosecute those responsible for violence against journalists," the statement reads.
ANEM called on the representatives of the international community, the European Commission and the OSCE, to find a way to protect journalists in Serbia, who today work in, as stated, one of the most difficult and dangerous environments for journalistic work in Europe.
You can read the entire announcement here.
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