Matić: Impunity motivates those who make threats; out of the ten threats I reported, none have been resolved.

"This year, we do not have a single case that has been resolved out of all the numerous cases; not even the proceedings have started, nor has an indictment been filed. Now we have a situation where about ten threats have been made under a single post. This is now happening in waves; this impunity and the signal given by the prosecution, the court, and the police that no one will be punished motivates those who threaten," added Matić.

He stated that the same authors who issue threats appear every three to four days.

"We have systemic threats – those who threaten with a 'black hand' were identified a year ago in Novi Sad, where they live, and everything about them; they don't even hide much on social media. We have reported all of this to the prosecution, and there has been absolutely no reaction. It is obvious that there is a policy on the other side not to investigate these cases, leaving us as clay pigeons. I believe this will only increase - both the number of threats and the number of attacks," he said.

"Acceleration Towards Dictatorship"

He also said that "we are witnessing a serious acceleration towards dictatorship and autocratic rule."

Source: N1 Belgrade

"Anyone who dares to document and record violations of the law, like Stevan Filipović now, or hold the most normal commemoration like Vladimir Arsenijević - they are threatened with being beaten," said Matić.

He added that the police do not protect us; rather, we are exposed to violence from the police.

"We no longer know who is in the police. Who is under the uniform - is it a disguised criminal, someone who has been released from prison to settle scores with journalists, civil society organizations, and students, or a blind executor of orders to beat journalists? We do not know how the phone ended up in the police because it was stolen from Stevan Filipović, and then it is spectacular that (the phone, note N1) is now in Uroševac, an area where Albanians predominantly live, where there are no Serbs," he said.

He added that this speaks of the direct connections that exist within the "gray zone" that is illegal.

"The Government is on the Offensive Against Anyone Who Criticizes"

As Matić stated, there has been a state of emergency for two years, and we cannot speak of normal life since the Ribnikar incident.

"The government is on the offensive against all those who criticize precisely what this government has led to: the collapse of institutions and the nullification of the state. What is happening now is a trend that has existed for a long time, but it is now accelerating and brutalizing. What was once a threat once a month – now it is a threat every other day. What was once the beating of journalists, professors, and intellectuals once every two months is now every third day," he said.

Source: N1