ANEM ALARM: New threats to Veran Matić with hanging, public execution, sacrifice...

In a comment on Vukša Dragović's Facebook page, beneath a post that presents a forgery of Veran Matić's statement, a death threat was left from the profile "Aleksandar Mosic": "Hang the bastard and leave the corpse for the animals to devour." From the profile named "Bratislav Nikolić," a message was posted: "First, we will sacrifice you," while a certain Miloš Nikolić wrote: "He will stop living soon," Goran Rakić stated: "This filthy Ustaša shit needs to be dealt with publicly," and Goran Gajić asked: "Where does he live? In Serbia? What are we waiting for?"

Below the same Dragović text on platform X, another message was left: "… we will sacrifice him first."

Particularly dangerous insults and lies are found in posts on the same author's Instagram account, in which false accusations are attributed to Matić that could lead to tragic consequences: "This man doesn’t even know how to speak Serbian, yet he has sent so many Serbs to the knife…"

The Association of Independent Electronic Media in its statement reminds that in July of last year, the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, while guesting on the most-watched tabloid television, targeted Matić by stating that all those who had been imprisoned because of Veran Matić should have it erased from their records, and that Matić should apologize to them. This seriously jeopardized his safety, as evidenced by the security assessment from the Ministry of Interior, which indicates that police patrols will be intensified in front of the building where Matić lives.

Following this, a propaganda film from the Center for Social Stability was released, filled with false and dangerous claims, in which Matić is labeled as a foreign mercenary, a collaborator with the intelligence services of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Albania, as well as a person who "sold Kosovo." This propaganda film was broadcasted on two national frequency television stations and was repeatedly rerun on Informer TV, along with additional false and inciting claims.

The same Center also posted a threatening message on its Instagram account, implying that Matić would "end up like Ćuruvija and Zoran Đinđić." After that, numerous new threats followed on social media, as well as incidents on the street, including an attack in front of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, where his mobile phone was stolen.

Due to all of the above, Veran Matić requested a new security assessment from the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, while the Association of Independent Electronic Media demands that the Special Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia urgently investigate numerous reports submitted by ANEM just this year, identify and prosecute the perpetrators. The constant threats and the increasing intensity of threats pose not only a risk to the safety but also to the life of Veran Matić.

The beating of director and professor Stevan Filipović from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of Arts in Belgrade on the street, in front of numerous witnesses, shows that the center of Belgrade has become a space of violence, where paramilitary groups composed of convicted murderers and perpetrators with the most severe criminal records operate, who, according to numerous publicly expressed claims and testimonies, act in the interests of the authorities and the ruling party.

The citizens of Belgrade and Serbia must show solidarity and oppose violence in order to timely prevent further erosion of the rule of law and protect every citizen from the danger of becoming a new victim of politically motivated violence.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "Improvement of the 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 Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.