ANEM alarm: Terrifying threats against N1, Nova, Danas, and Insider on network X, reported to the prosecutor's office.
The President of the Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and member of the Permanent Working Group for Journalist Safety, Veran Matić, today reported to the Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime threats made on the social network X directed towards N1, Nova, Danas, and Brankica Stanković and Insider.
A user under the account @Spavach74 on this network wrote: “So, one way or another, N1 has started to burn. Let Danas and Nova prepare. We don’t want a repeat of Charlie Hebdo in the middle of Belgrade. Insider, we have special plans for you, Brankica. You are as poisonous as a snake... #caosvima.”
ANEM calls on the relevant authorities to urgently identify the person threatening the mentioned media outlets on social networks and to adequately sanction this type of intimidation and pressure on journalists.
Messages invoking and reminding of the Charlie Hebdo case are concerning and dangerous, considering what happened to that editorial office on January 7, 2015. To recall, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi attacked the editorial office of the Parisian satirical weekly and killed 12 people.
We remind that there is still an unresolved brutal threat received by the editorial office of the daily newspaper Danas, with the same association, at the end of 2022, which led to several weeks of police protection. Additionally, the reminder of Charlie Hebdo is also highlighted in a letter received by the editorial office of N1 on July 11 of this year, and neither of these two cases has been clarified yet.
The threats were preceded by frequent labeling statements from the top of the government regarding critical media, and we once again appeal to representatives of the authorities to be mindful of the incendiary messages being sent to the public and to be aware of their responsibility for every word spoken, especially if such speech may affect the worsening of safety for journalists and media.
ANEM reminds that in recent months, the safety of journalists in Serbia has been further endangered, with an increase in threats, pressures, and attacks on journalists performing their duties professionally, and calls on all relevant authorities, state institutions, and international organizations to react and stand up for the protection of media freedom in Serbia.
Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)
The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is being implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Balkan Democracy Fund.
