ANEM ALARM: Inappropriate and vulgar language used by a municipal official in a message directed to the editor of Žig Infa.

Pitulić responded to the Žig Info article with an offensive message directed at the editor, while the documentation presented by this media outlet reveals that his name is associated with arrests for violent behavior, participation in two recorded physical altercations, and an incident in Ćacilend where he was photographed with President Vučić.

After they published the article about the career of Bojan Pitulić, the new assistant to the president of the Grocka municipality responsible for communal affairs, a reaction on Instagram followed. Pitulić wrote to the editor of this local media, Željko Matorčević: "Matorčević, you can suck all the d**ks of the Pitulićs. That's all from me."

The editorial team of Žig Info reminds that such rhetoric, given the media's past, should not be taken lightly. The editorial staff does not regard this message as a harmless comment under the article, nor as an insult to be ignored. "Given who Pitulić is and what has happened to our editorial journalists so far, we read this as a threat — and not the first in a series coming from that direction," states the editorial announcement.

ANEM reminds that Žig Info has been under constant threats, pressures, and SLAPP lawsuits for the past several years due to its investigative work and critical approach towards the local government in the Belgrade municipality of Grocka. Against this Grocka media outlet, former mayor Dragoljub Simonović has filed more than 20 lawsuits and criminal charges. In 2024, Simonović was sentenced to four years for inciting others to set fire to the house of Žig Info journalist Milan Jovanović in 2018.

"Besides the fact that it is inappropriate for municipal, city, and state officials to address journalists in such a vulgar manner, such messages are a cause for concern given what the Žig Info editorial team has been facing for years. The message from the assistant to the mayor of Grocka is not only primitive but also potentially dangerous and contributes to the spread of hatred and further endangers the safety of representatives of this portal. Therefore, we call on the entire leadership of this Belgrade municipality to react urgently and sanction their official," stated Veran Matić, president of the ANEM Board, member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and coordinator of the Safe Line for Journalists 0800 100 115.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "Improving the System of Mechanisms for Prevention and Response in Cases of Threats to the Safety and Life of Female and Male Journalists in Serbia" 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.

The OSCE Mission in Serbia has supported ANEM's project "24/7 SOS Hotline for Assistance to Journalists and Other Threatened Media Workers," as part of the EU-funded project "Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia."