ANEM alarm: Authorities urgently need to investigate the letter received by the N1 editorial office.

As reported by N1, in a letter signed by an alleged Serbian patriot, partially written in Latin script and partially in Cyrillic, it is stated that the author is requesting the cessation of the "anti-Serbian witch hunt and inciting propaganda, as it offends the patriotic feelings of the Serbian people."

"If you feel uncomfortable or unhappy being born as Serbs rather than as some 'gifted' individuals, you are free to change your name, surname, place of residence, faith, etc.," it is noted.

The letter, full of grammatical and spelling errors, also contains a comparison to the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

"If you remember, the 'humorous satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo played with the feelings of Muslim believers in 2015. As Rade Šerbedžija says in one of his recitations, 'What was your name dear neighbor, Ema, Selma, Amila, Adela, and would anything change your eyes, face, and stomach? It could be said like this: what was your name, Danica, Žaklina, Maja, Nataša, Ivana… and would anything change your eyes, face, and stomach… patriotic regards.'

N1 reminds that in recent weeks, the editorial office has received a large number of vile and brutal threats in comments and emails. Additionally, tabloids close to the government are targeting their journalists, and the president has accused them of engaging in terrorism.

ANEM emphasizes that the messages invoking and referencing the case of Charlie Hebdo are alarming 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 you that there is still an unresolved brutal threat received by the editorial office of the daily newspaper Danas, at the end of 2022, for which reason it was under police protection for several weeks. The message that arrived via an anonymizing service detailed how this editorial office and its journalists would be liquidated. Despite the significant efforts of investigative authorities and international legal assistance, the perpetrator has not been identified or punished to this day. We are witnessing that the rise in impunity and the number of unresolved cases directly affects the significant increase in threats and attacks on journalists," emphasized Veran Matić, the president of the ANEM Board.

We call on the relevant institutions to discover as quickly as possible who is behind the letter received by N1 and to adequately sanction this type of intimidation and pressure on journalists and media. We also once again appeal to government representatives to be mindful of the statements directed at critically reporting media, as they can be and are the cause of such threats, including physical attacks on journalists.

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 Fund for Democracy.