ANEM ALERT: Death threats and obstruction of work against independent journalist Marko Dragoslavić.

Dragoslavić received a death threat today, around 1:30 PM, at an illegal construction site located at Prolomska 22, in the Stepin Lug forest.

Three buildings are being constructed at this location, about which several articles and reports have been published in recent days, and two days ago, a piece featuring a photograph taken by Marko Dragoslavić was published on the portal of the weekly magazine Vreme.

On January 14, 2026, in the morning hours, the construction inspection visited this site and issued an order to cease all works. Despite this, the workers removed the protective tape and continued working after the inspection left.

Marko Dragoslavić arrived at the site to document and record the violation of the inspection order (which is a criminal offense), wearing a yellow press vest and a press ID from NUNS. When he began recording the illegally constructed buildings, two workers approached him and asked who he was. When he informed them that he was there as a journalist and that they were committing a criminal offense, they claimed they were unaware of the construction inspection's order.

A third worker approached him and called the investor, who was listed in that worker's phone as Vlada Kumodraž. Dragoslavić accepted the call. According to him, after introducing himself and stating that he was on a journalistic assignment, "Vlada Kumodraž" told him, "I'll come over, and you'll see..." and then ended the call. One of the workers then warned him that it would be better for him to flee to avoid being killed.

Dragoslavić managed to escape into the Stepin Lug forest, where he called emergency number 192 and informed the police that he was on the run and feared for his life due to the death threats. According to him, he was told that a patrol would be sent to the scene.

After some time, he informed the editorial staff of the weekly Vreme, and then the editor of the media's portal, Andrej Ivanji, informed Veran Matić as the contact point in the Permanent Working Group for Journalist Safety.

"I called Marko Dragoslavić and received the same information from him. Then I contacted the point of contact at the Police Directorate for the City of Belgrade, who recorded the details and indicated that, since emergency number 192 was called, the police would act on that report. After that, I spoke again with Marko Dragoslavić and suggested he leave the forest and return to the city, recommending that he keep the phone line open for any potential intervention. After some time, he informed me that he had exited the forest, was waiting for public transportation, and at that moment did not feel endangered," Matić stated.

ANEM demands that the relevant authorities respond urgently so that this case of endangering the safety of media workers does not remain unresolved and without appropriate penalties for the perpetrators, as has been the case with numerous incidents over the past two years.

We also call on all journalists, female journalists, and media workers to report any cases of pressure, threats, and attacks to the Safe Line at 0800 100 115.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "System for Violence Prevention and Journalist Protection" 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.

The OSCE Mission to 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."