MFRR: Serbia ranks first in Europe in terms of violations of media freedom.
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) platform has today published a report on the state of media freedoms in Europe for the period from January to June 2025, in which Serbia ranked first in terms of the number of recorded violations of media freedoms.
In Serbia, a total of 96 violations of media freedom have been recorded, affecting 199 media workers. Following Serbia on the list are Turkey with 64 violations, Ukraine with 62, and Germany with 57.
The MFRR report states that since November 2024, media workers in Serbia have been operating under unprecedented pressures and repression from the authorities.
Amid ongoing anti-government protests and the state's violent response, journalists in Serbia have faced an unprecedented number of attacks, including smear campaigns by the authorities, assaults while reporting from protests, editorial pressures, and unjustified dismissals, according to the MFRR report.
The MFRR has expressed deep concern for the safety of journalists and media workers in Serbia, who report under immense political pressure, facing physical violence, censorship, smear campaigns, abuse of legal proceedings, and daily death threats.
In the first six months of 2025, the MapMF database recorded a total of 96 cases of media freedom violations against 199 media workers or entities. These are unprecedented figures compared to 84 cases recorded throughout 2024 and 49 cases during the entire year of 2023.
The violations included 19 cases of physical attacks, 19 attacks on property (e.g., equipment), 57 cases of verbal abuse (e.g., threats, intimidation, online harassment, and smear campaigns), 25 incidents related to interference in media operations, and eight legal proceedings. Reporting on student protests following the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which resulted in 16 fatalities, particularly heightened pressures on journalists, including pressures from state representatives and police, it adds.
"Despite strong criticism of the student movement over reporting and long-standing political control, the public service RTS has also been subjected to political pressures from President Vučić and other high officials for allegedly inciting protests. The President, for example, accused RTS of having a 'special role in the colored revolution,' called journalists 'imbeciles,' and claimed that RTS's reporting on the protests was 'similar to a witch hunt,'" the report highlights.
According to their claims, critical media outlets such as KRIK have also been targets of attacks.
"The claims made by Vučić and other state representatives are regularly disseminated by pro-government tabloids, further fueling hostility towards journalists. The MFRR has also expressed concern over the smear campaign initiated by the newly formed pro-government Association of Journalists of Serbia (ANS) against the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS). This case has raised fears that organizations will be used as weapons against media representatives," it assesses.
The MFRR is also concerned about the increasingly brutal repression by the police, which has shifted from passivity to direct confrontations with journalists covering protests. In the first six months of 2025, 12 incidents involving police or state security were recorded, affecting at least 30 journalists.
For more details, see the MFRR report at this link.
