ANEM ALARM: Sanction the person who is threatening the editorial team of the "Volim Zrenjanin" portal.

The editorial team of the "I Love Zrenjanin" portal reported serious threats made against their editor and the editorial office to the prosecution and the on-call prosecutor this morning, as well as to the police. This followed a comment left under one of the articles on the portal stating, "there is no cure for you, except for a bullet," and shortly thereafter, a phone call was received during which the threats continued and intensified.

The comment, signed by Dejan, was left under the article titled "Meetings: Boycott of Beer Day is Showing Results." Not long after that, the phone of the editor of the "I Love Zrenjanin" portal, which is publicly available to everyone in the imprint section of the portal, rang.

The man who called introduced himself by name and surname, which the editorial team will not disclose at this moment due to the ongoing procedure. During the conversation, he made a series of threats, urging the editor to come to an address in Zrenjanin that he dictated, threatening to "smash his head" along with several other vulgar threats and insults towards the editor's family. The editorial team possesses an audio recording of this phone call, which has been submitted to the police.

During the conversation, the man identified himself as a "supporter" and openly expressed support for the Serbian Progressive Party.

Due to the seriousness of the words spoken, as well as the previously left comment, the editor of the "I Love Zrenjanin" portal immediately reported the case to the Prosecutor's Office and subsequently, following the instructions of the on-call prosecutor, to the police. The police and relevant authorities have been provided with the audio recording of the phone conversation, as well as data and other materials available to the editorial team.

The editor of the "I Love Zrenjanin" portal, along with the entire editorial team and family, is very disturbed and seriously concerned for their own safety as well as the safety of family members.

The suspect was quickly apprehended, and ANEM calls on the authorities to sanction the person who issued such threats that jeopardize the safety of journalists in accordance with the law.

The relevant authorities must demonstrate a readiness to address these and similar cases, as it is unacceptable to endanger the safety of media workers.

We remind that such acts are punishable and that by failing to resolve such cases, the state sends a wrong and unacceptable message that attacks on journalists and media representatives are permissible.

ANEM also appeals to all journalists, female journalists, and media representatives to regularly report any threats to their safety while performing their duties, as such cases must be documented and counted to draw the attention of both the domestic and international public to the pressures that media in Serbia increasingly face.

All journalists have access to a free phone number and direct line of ANEM at 0800 100 115, where media representatives can receive explanations about the legal treatment of offenses and the procedures that should be initiated to report threats to safety to the relevant institutions, police, and prosecution.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "Improving the System of Prevention and Response Mechanisms 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 Local Media Development Center, with the support of the European Union.

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