Announcements

Journalistic and media associations and unions from Serbia and the region strongly condemn the brutal and unacceptable behavior of police officers towards journalists, as well as the systematic obstruction of their work during reporting on events of public interest. The aggressive actions of the police represent an absolutely unacceptable violation of the law and fundamental democratic principles, as well as a continuation of the ongoing pressure and violence against media workers that has persisted for over a year.

The President of the Management Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, Veran Matić, has filed a complaint with the Press Council against six media portals that published identical articles titled "Censorship under the Patronage of Veran Matić Targets the Media and Promotes the Fake State of Kosovo."

On the day of the local elections in 10 cities and municipalities in Serbia, there were an increasing number of physical attacks on journalists and citizens. The most drastic case occurred in Šarbanovac near Bor, where the journalists from Revolt, Lazar Dinić and Ivan Bjelić, were brutally beaten, and journalist Zorica Popović received two blows to the stomach. Several students were also attacked during this incident.

The journalistic section of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists (SRG) demands that the Ministry of Internal Affairs identify and detain all individuals who have physically attacked journalists and citizens since this morning, on the day of the local elections held in 10 cities and municipalities in Serbia.

Representatives of journalistic and media associations from the Standing Working Group for the Safety of Journalists (SRG) will be present in almost all locations where local elections are held on Sunday, March 29, as points of contact and a visible support for media representatives reporting from the polling stations in ten local governments.

The Basic Court in Novi Sad has rejected the proposal for the imposition of a temporary measure prohibiting the publication of claims from the propaganda film by the Center for Social Stability, in which falsehoods about Veran Matić are presented, thereby jeopardizing his safety. Judge Srđan Pupović issued a first-instance decision rejecting the proposal with a justification that deviates from the practice of the Basic Court in Novi Sad without a clear reason.

The Basic Court in Šabac, in its first-instance ruling, found Zoran Cvetanović from Šabac guilty of repeatedly harassing, insulting, provoking, and assaulting journalist Nenad Kulačin in public places in the city from 2023 to 2025. This criminal act was committed even when the journalist was in the company of his minor son or wife, as well as in front of citizens who were also disturbed by such behavior.

The Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) made a decision at its last meeting to accept nine new members, or media outlets.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemns the obstruction of journalist Vuk Mladenović from Glas Šumadije and television Nova's reporter Isidora Kovačević, who were reporting yesterday on the arrival and departure of supporters and activists of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) at a rally in Belgrade.