ANEM ALARM: The wave of threats against Savatović, Vidojković, and Kulačin continues; authorities must respond urgently.
Despite the reactions, public condemnations, and appeals to the relevant authorities to respond to the threats to the safety of media workers in Serbia, the threats received by N1 television journalist Mladen Savatović and the authors of the show "Dobar loš zao," as well as the columnists of Danas, Marko Vidojković and Nenad Kulačin, continue day after day.
Veran Matić, the president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), has reported several new threats against media representatives to the prosecutor’s office as a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists.
A second wave of threats received by Mladen Savatović via social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, and X has been reported. The first threats this journalist received followed a heated and inflammatory reaction from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during a press conference where he was asked questions in a polite and professional manner.
The day after, Mladen Savatović announced that he would sue the president to assert his rights through legal means, and then a second wave of threats on social media followed. Among other things, Savatović received messages such as: “Mladenko, you will get f*cked in it and no amount of cameras will save you, Ustasha's Kurtijevo turd,” “You will be left without ears, you treacherous scum,” “Poor you, you are rotten like muck. You should really be taught a lesson because you are a young man but without a shred of decency. Scum who leads these fools who applaud you,” and a series of other threatening messages of similar content.
“These threats are particularly dangerous, as they came as a direct consequence of the aggressive statements made by the President of the Republic, disqualifications, and insults based on lies during the press conference held on December 16, coupled with a clear threat that he (Savatović) would be ‘re-educated.’ In our jargon, expressed in this manner and in this context, ‘re-education’ often indicates violent methods. It is clear that this call for violence against Mladen Savatović comes from the highest state office, which holds all power – the most dangerous message as it represents a green light for followers and aggressors, many of whom are concentrated in Pionirski Park and in front of the National Assembly of Serbia, a large number of whom have criminal records and various convictions for criminal acts,” emphasizes Veran Matić.
In the report submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime, Matić highlighted that Mladen Savatović is a television reporter whose work largely takes place in the field, and that he has been subjected to attacks, threats, and pressures over an extended period. For these reasons, there is justified concern that the threats Savatović is currently facing could escalate into a physical attack.
A threat has also been reported against Marko Vidojković and Nenad Kulačin as a comment on “ANEM ALARM: New threat reported to Marko Vidojković, Nenad Kulačin, and the guests of the show ‘Good, Bad, Ugly’ on ANEM’s Instagram account. On this social network, a threatening message arrived: ‘Enough threats, let’s move to actions,’ as well as a threatening comment, ‘Come on, get rid of them. Provocateurs, annoying.’
This is a new incident in a series of threats that the authors of this show have been receiving lately, which instills constant fear among the victims due to the real possibility of physical attacks.
ANEM once again appeals to the competent authorities to urgently send a message to the public that such cases cannot go unpunished and are unacceptable, by ensuring that each case is resolved through the identification and sanctioning of the perpetrators. This would help stop the disheartening trend observed this year regarding the increase in threats, pressures, and physical attacks on female and male journalists.
We again urge the highest state officials to condemn any form of violence against journalists of all media in Serbia and to refrain from targeting and inflammatory rhetoric that spreads hatred towards the media.
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 Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia.
The OSCE Mission to Serbia has supported ANEM’s project “24/7 SOS Hotline for Assistance to Journalists and Other Vulnerable Media Workers,” as part of the project funded by the European Union “Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia.”
