ANEM ALARM: Relevant authorities must urgently respond to threats made to editor Rešetka from Leskovac via TikTok.

After the publication of articles about the alleged illegal sale of buprenorphine in Leskovac, threats were directed at the editor-in-chief and the responsible editor of Rešetka, as well as other journalists from the editorial team and former collaborators of the portal.

“There are many dark places in Lamelas, or passages where anything can happen to you! The new bridge on Ada will be named after you ‘Molder's Bridge’ because you will be thrown from it with concrete boots to the bottom of the river at its deepest point, to measure how deep the water is. After three days, catfish will eat you; nothing will remain of you! There are many poor people in Leskovac who are willing to do all sorts of things for 200 euros that you wouldn’t like,” states a video on the TikTok profile titled “Leskovac Don Mika Čewra.”

The video was temporarily removed from this social network but was re-uploaded with a message stating that “the police told him that there are no elements of a lawsuit here and that they cannot do anything to him.”

The controversial recordings and messages of the threats were published on the social network TikTok shortly after Rešetka released two articles about the alleged illegal sale of buprenorphine in Leskovac, based on anonymous letters from a group of parents claiming that this medication has become the subject of organized street resale.

After the publication of the first article, the suspect initially directed insults at the journalists of Rešetka on various social media platforms, and then published a video in which he directly addresses the editor of the editorial team.

The editorial team reported the case to the police and filed a criminal complaint against M.T., who published this video, on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of endangering safety.

ANEM reminds that threats against journalists and media represent a serious blow to media freedom and the public's right to be informed about issues of public interest.

We demand that the relevant authorities, the prosecutor's office, and the police respond without delay in this and all other similar cases to protect the safety of journalists and to enable all media in Serbia to perform their work freely and without fear. We remind that the media play an important role in society and democratic processes, and that any hindrance and endangerment of their safety that may affect their further work is unacceptable and inadmissible.

ANEM also appeals to all journalists and media representatives to regularly report any type of safety threats while performing their work. A free phone number and direct line of ANEM 0800 100 115 is also available to all journalists, where media representatives can obtain explanations about the legal treatment of the offenses and the procedures that need to be initiated to report safety threats to the relevant institutions, police, and prosecutor's office.

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 journalists in Serbia” is being implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insajder TV and the Center for 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 EU-funded project “Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia.”