ANEM ALARM: The police and the prosecutor's office should announce why a search was conducted at the apartment of Ljubomir Stefanović, the responsible editor of "Slavija Info."
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) demands that the relevant authorities – the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and the prosecutor's office – inform the public as soon as possible about the reasons, according to available information, for the search and subsequent sealing of the apartment of Ljubomir Stefanović, the editor of "Slavija info." Stefanović, who addresses topics of general interest and maintains a critical stance towards the current regime in Serbia, has not been reachable by his family and friends for over 24 hours, which has raised significant concern in the public.
ANEM reminds that Ljubomir Stefanović informed the public in October 2024 that he was forcibly and unjustifiably taken to the premises of the Security Information Agency (BIA), where he was interrogated for four hours. During this time, he stated, he was asked to change the editorial policy of "Slavija info." If he did not comply, the BIA warned him, as conveyed to the public by Stefanović, that they would "set up" a prison sentence of five years, as well as compromise him with false testimonies in tabloids.
Subsequently, an analysis conducted by the Security Laboratory of the international organization Amnesty International confirmed that Stefanović's device was compromised during the seizure. Based on this analysis, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and several civil society organizations filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime due to reasonable suspicion that the Cellebrite tool, used for unlocking mobile devices and retrieving data, was employed on Stefanović's phone, thereby opening the possibility for the installation of the NoviSpy spyware.
According to Stefanović's testimony, during the last five years of his work, he has been stopped and searched nearly 90 times, often in the presence of his minor son. In August 2025, the police searched Stefanović's apartment, confiscated two mobile phones, and took him to the police station where he was detained for 48 hours. On the same occasion, the police also searched his sister's apartment, seizing two desktop computers and two laptops. Stefanović was then charged with the criminal offense of Forgery of Documents, but after appealing the detention order, Stefanović was released.
All previous actions by the police and BIA towards journalist Ljubomir Stefanović indicate a drastic violation of human rights and freedoms, as well as a blatant assault on free reporting and the freedom of information in Serbia.
"Due to the years of repression that Stefanović points out: kidnapping by BIA members, unlawful intrusion into his mobile device, threats, harassment, searches, detention at border crossings, arrests, and the sealing of his apartment, we justifiably raise the question of whether Ljubomir Stefanović is well and safe?" stated Veran Matić, president of the Association of Independent Electronic Media.
ANEM also demands that representatives of the ODIHR observation mission urgently direct questions to the police and the prosecutor's office, seeking clarification on why journalist Stefanović's apartment was broken into, as well as for the authorities to disclose his whereabouts.
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 Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.
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