Announcements

The number of recorded threats and attacks on journalists in Serbia, as well as the number of reported cases to the prosecution, reached a record high for the month of January. Specifically, through the Safe Line 0800 100 115 and contact points at the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), 47 different attacks on journalists and media in Serbia were registered. Based on this, Veran Matić, the President of the ANEM Management Board, a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and an operator on the Safe Line, submitted 18 reports to the prosecution.

Televisions with national frequencies B92 and Prva, along with the cable television Informer, aired a documentary film about Veran Matić during prime evening slots, which could have serious consequences and jeopardize the safety of Veran Matić, the Chairman of the Management Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).

Journalist and editor of the portal snews.rs, Medin Halilović from Novi Pazar, reported to the police threats he received yesterday from an acquaintance. The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has reported this threat to the safety of journalists to the contact point at the prosecutor's office in Novi Pazar and expects the relevant authorities to act promptly in this case and identify and sanction the perpetrator.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) calls on the competent authorities to investigate the threats directed at Predrag Simonović, a columnist for the weekly magazine Radar, a regular member of NUNS, a retired member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a member of the Working Group for the Investigation of the Murders of Journalists Slavko Ćuruvija and Milan Pantić at the Commission for the Investigation of Journalist Murders, established by the Government of Serbia.

Journalist Igor Velić from Bor has received a new wave of death threats on social media, following the reporting of a series of threatening messages to the Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime a few days ago.

A new major bot attack on the Instagram accounts of Nova.rs and the weekly publication Radar was reported today to the Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime by Veran Matić, the chairman of the Management Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and an operator on the Safe Line for Journalists at 0800 100 115.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) calls on the relevant authorities to urgently respond to the latest case of incitement to hatred against journalists Ina Džakula and Sanja Kosović, reported to the prosecution by Veran Matić, the president of the ANEM Management Board, a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and an operator on the Safe Line for Journalists 0800 100 115.

The Chief Public Prosecutor and contact point of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists at the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Vranje, Danijela Trajković, assessed the comments of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) regarding the proceedings in the case of the attack on journalist Jelena Stojković as justified and ordered a separation.

Fourteen civil society organizations, journalistic associations, and independent media outlets have sent an open letter to META regarding the recent suspensions and deletions of Instagram accounts belonging to independent media and civil society organizations in Serbia, as well as other similar attacks on media accounts that preceded and followed these actions.