Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Actions of Public Prosecutors and the Ministry of Interior in Serbia in Cases of Attacks on Journalists from 2020 to 2024.

The Analysis focuses on an essential question regarding attacks on media workers: How effective are the prosecution offices in their actions, and in what manner, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, do they exercise their powers in relation to the police.

The analysis follows a database created based on materials obtained from public prosecution offices for the period from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2024.

The analysis is available at THIS LINK, and you can view the database HERE.

Media and journalism associations continuously address the problems arising from the (in)efficiency of actions taken by both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecution offices.

An example that well illustrates the dynamics of action is the case of the attack on Vuk Cvijić by Milan Lađević. The attack occurred in late May 2024, in the center of Belgrade, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs took months to send the surveillance footage to the competent prosecution office.

Due to the aforementioned case and other instances where media workers were the victims, it was necessary to analyze the steps taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the competent prosecution offices. In this regard, it is important to consider, on one hand, what the prosecution can do in situations where the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not act effectively, what legally guaranteed powers are at its disposal, and on the other hand, how often it utilizes its options and which of its options it uses most frequently.

The analysis, in its concluding part, establishes the direction of two paths: the one that public prosecutors choose to follow and the one they could potentially take.