News

Seventy-one open cases of attacks on journalists in the first six months of the year and only one finalized case, according to data provided by ANEM, indicate almost complete impunity. At the same time, journalists are facing physical attacks, targeting, threats, financial pressures, and attempts to exclude professional media from the public space. "The state is against us," comments Veran Matić, President of the Board of ANEM and member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, for Mašina.

Out of 159 announced competitions for project co-financing of media content in Serbia, 153 have been completed. In four cases, the legal deadline for making decisions on the allocation of funds has expired, and the process is still ongoing for two competitions that were announced later.

The Special Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime has received reports of new threats involving hanging, public execution, and sacrifice directed at journalist Veran Matić. He told N1 that he has reported about ten threats since the beginning of the year, but none have been resolved.

The President of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), Veran Matić, stated today that there is a "culture of impunity" in Serbia—police do not respond and protect the perpetrators, the prosecution either does not react or cannot because the police do not provide evidence, and if someone is honestly convicted, then the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, intervenes to grant clemency. "They have his protection. All of this is a very dramatic warning for students, the opposition, and the critical part of society to oppose the usurpation of power and the taking of justice into their own hands by such a parapolice force, which, with clear instructions, spreads violence and intimidation," Matić told the newspaper Danas.

Six journalists have left Serbia in the past two years due to endangered safety and are now living in exile. The latest in this series is military analyst Aleksandar Radić, against whom a criminal complaint has been filed and a warrant has been issued in the meantime.

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) condemns the threats and disturbing messages directed at the President of the Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), Veran Matić, on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and X, and calls on the authorities to urgently identify and punish those responsible.

The SafeJournalists network strongly condemns the new death threats and violence directed at Veran Matić and demands that the Special Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime and the Ministry of Interior promptly identify the individuals responsible and take all necessary measures within their authority.

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) and the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) condemned the intimidation and threats directed at the editor of the portal A1tv.net from Novi Pazar, Enes Radenica, as well as the inappropriate actions of Sulejman Durević, Head of the Urban Construction Land Sector at the Directorate for the Construction of the City of Novi Pazar.

In July 2026, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) recorded a total of **19 cases** involving journalists and media workers. There were **two physical attacks**, **14 cases of death threats and threats to the physical safety** of journalists, and **three cases of other threats**. The month of July was marked by serious threats directed at female and male journalists. Particularly concerning is the fact that certain journalists are continuously exposed to threats and campaigns, with this month seeing female journalists from local media especially targeted.