Milić (NDNV): The procedures for embezzlement in media competitions do not expire after 20 years.

“The prosecution needs to start doing its job and investigate abuses in media competitions. The statute of limitations for embezzlement in these competitions only begins after 20 years, for projects worth more than one and a half million dinars,” said Milić at the forum “Journalism is Defended Locally” at NDNV in Novi Sad.

Speaking about attacks on journalists in Serbia, Milić stated that, at this moment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the biggest threat to journalists.

“In doing their job, journalists have suffered the most violence from the police, who do not wear insignia, badges, or surnames on their uniforms,” Milić said.

He stated that regime tabloids in Serbia commit at least 10-15 violations of the Code of Journalists of Serbia on a daily basis.

The editor-in-chief of the Autonomija portal, Branka Dragović, reminded that research has shown that of the 2,500 registered media outlets in Serbia, only 80 adhere to the code.

According to her, local journalists are in the most difficult position, as they are exposed to threats, insults, targeting, and physical violence.

Branka Dragović stated that the work of independent journalists at the local level is recognized by citizens, who are increasingly placing their trust in them.

The journalist from the In Medija portal in Inđija, Miodrag Blečić, said that this media outlet was the first local media to face SLAPP lawsuits.

He added that they have never received an explanation as to why their projects in local media competitions were not approved.

The program director of NDNV, Dinko Gruhonjić, stated that independent media should not report on the official activities of the authorities in Serbia, as it is a regime that persecutes them and is an “enemy of democracy.”

He also reminded that independent media boycotted the activities of the Serbian Radical Party during the regime of Slobodan Milošević, which he mentioned is “still in power and has taken the form of the SNS,” as they threatened journalists with death at that time.

“Someone who beats you and plots against you cannot be considered ‘the other side,’ all under the pretext of some journalistic objectivity. They are enemies of journalism and they do not hide it at all,” Gruhonjić stated.

The public debate was organized as part of the project “Strengthening Local Capacities to Fight Against Threats and Protect Journalistic Rights,” which NDNV implements with financial support from the Government of Norway, the Balkan Democracy Fund, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Source: Autonomija