ANEM condemns the threats against the reporter from Nova and calls on the President and tabloids to cease labeling journalists.

In a statement, TV Nova indicates that the threats followed after TV Informer launched a campaign regarding its reporting from the protests in Novi Sad on August 14. This television station has been targeted with the harshest insults solely for performing its professional duties, reporting for the programs of TV Nova and N1. According to Nova, this campaign was further fueled by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during a phone call to the program of that television station and by Minister of the Interior Ivica Dačić at a press conference that same evening.

TV Nova emphasizes that threats and insults directed at Sanja Ignjatović Eker and her family ensued, including threats of the liquidation of her child. In one of the threats, an individual against whom a criminal complaint has already been filed stated: "N1 will become N6 for your child... You will soon learn what N6 means; we will explain it to you shortly, you Jewish bastard."

The editorial team of TV Nova demands an immediate halt to the campaign and public targeting of the journalist, the identification and arrest of all individuals making threats, as well as their prosecution in accordance with the law, and a public apology from Aleksandar Vučić and Ivica Dačić for statements that contributed to the campaign against our colleague.

ANEM expresses solidarity with the journalist who reports professionally and courageously from the field and joins the demands of the Nova editorial team for the urgent identification and sanctioning of all individuals who threaten colleagues.

We remind that in recent months, threats, pressures, and physical attacks on journalists in Serbia have become increasingly frequent and are often the result of alarming messages and statements from the highest representatives of the government and the ruling party, as well as targeting in pro-government media. In situations of social crisis, government representatives must be mindful of the incendiary messages they send to the public and be aware of their responsibility for every word spoken, especially if such speech can exacerbate the safety of journalists and media, as well as any other actors in society and the state.

Female journalists are particularly vulnerable professionally, but also as women and mothers, and 70 percent of the total number of threats are directed specifically at female journalists, not only containing threats but also very disturbing content.

Therefore, ANEM appeals to government representatives and the media to immediately cease such practices of labeling journalists who perform their jobs professionally.

Veran Matić, President of the Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists

The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Balkan Fund for Democracy.