ANEM ALARM: ANEM has recorded 257 attacks on journalists from the beginning of the year to date, while the Public Prosecutor's Office has documented 111 criminal charges and only 3 convictions.

In October of this year, during the pre-election campaign for parliamentary elections, ANEM recorded 27 different forms of endangerment and intimidation of journalists through its SOS line for journalist safety. According to the official records maintained by the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office (VJT) within the Permanent Working Group for Journalist Safety (SRG), there were 111 cases, i.e., criminal complaints regarding threats to the safety of female and male journalists during 2026. The data from VJT regarding threats and attacks on journalists indicate an 18 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

According to VJT records, only three of the 111 cases resulted in a conviction, and in as many as 66 cases, the police did not respond to the prosecutor's request. ANEM assesses that, apart from refusing to gather information about attacks on journalists at the prosecutor's request, the police also do not react in cases where colleagues' safety is at risk in the field, even when Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) officials are present and witness the violations of the law. “This lack of action by police officers and MUP dramatically impacts the increase in the number and intensity of attacks, threats, and intimidation of journalists and media workers, contributing to the creation of an atmosphere of unprotection and fear that many colleagues experience while performing their journalistic duties, especially when they go out to report from the field,” stated Veran Matić, president of ANEM.

We commend the action of public prosecutor Branko Stamenković from the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, a member of SRG, who on Friday, October 23, sent an urgent letter to the appellate public prosecutor's offices, the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, higher public prosecutor's offices, basic public prosecutor's offices, and chief public prosecutors, demanding “readiness or duty on the day of the elections on October 25 for all contact points responsible for the safety of journalists, i.e., individuals performing public interest tasks in the field of information.”

Public prosecutor Stamenković also notes in his urgent letter that “holders of the public prosecutor's function should be prepared to establish contacts with representatives of the Permanent Working Group for Journalist Safety as well as representatives of the mentioned journalistic associations and media associations,” naming representatives from ANEM and other associations.

ANEM specifically emphasizes that chief public prosecutors and public prosecutors, according to the urgent letter from Public Prosecutor Stamenković, are obliged to apply the General Mandatory Instruction 10/20 without exceptions, which pertains to urgent actions and procedures in cases of threats to journalists' safety.

“Despite the lack of effective police response regarding threats and attacks on journalists, the fact that part of the prosecutor's office behaves professionally guarantees that at least the cases of endangerment of the safety of colleagues will be recorded for some future time and in situations where the judiciary will be able to prosecute all those who have prevented freedom of speech and the media in various ways. The actions of parts of the prosecutor's office that understand and work on protecting journalists' safety, which also protects the public's right to be informed, instill hope that all those who limit professional reporting on the most significant public interest events, such as parliamentary elections, will be prosecuted and held accountable for violations of the law,” stated Veran Matić, president of ANEM.

Matić added that, according to VJT records, of the 111 criminal complaints, 57 percent relate to attacks on male journalists, while 43 percent pertain to attacks on female journalists. According to ANEM's records, there is a higher number of attacks and instances of endangerment of female colleagues, both physically and in the online space.

ANEM reminds that threats, attacks, and other forms of endangerment of female and male journalists can be reported to contact points in the police and public prosecutor's offices across Serbia. Lists of contact persons in all police administrations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are available, as well as contact points in public prosecutor's offices.

Additionally, ANEM's free Safe Line 0800 100 115 is available, where attacks or any situation in which journalists are endangered can be reported. The Safe Line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides explanations of further actions to be taken to report threats to safety to the relevant institutions, police, and prosecutor's offices.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project “Improvement of the System Mechanism for Prevention and Response in Cases of Threats to the Safety and Life of Female and Male Journalists in Serbia” is implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.

The OSCE Mission in Serbia has supported ANEM's project “24/7 SOS Hotline for Assistance to Journalists and Other Endangered Media Workers,” as part of the project funded by the European Union “Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Serbia.”