Pavol Salaj (RSF): If something happens to Veran Matić, the President of Serbia will be held responsible.

Author: Jelena L. Petković

Salaj emphasizes that the epilogue of the trial for the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija is “a disgrace for the Serbian state and the Serbian president who promised that the case would be resolved.”

Last year, Serbia received its lowest rating ever in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, ranking 96th out of 180 countries. Although Salaj does not want to speculate on its ranking for 2026, which will be updated at the end of April, he clearly responds: “In Serbia, we have not seen any significant improvement.”

Last year was a record year in terms of attacks and pressure on journalists. Since the beginning of the year, ANEM has recorded 47 incidents. How do you comment on this?

Serbia is now on the global map of press freedom as a country where journalists are endangered on a daily basis.

We counted physical attacks in the context of anti-government protests following the incident in Novi Sad. For the first time in many years, we discussed Serbia in our annual review of violence against journalists. Therefore, Serbia really stands out in terms of the level of violence faced by journalists, perhaps with the exception of the wartime years of the 1990s.

Unfortunately, instead of protecting journalists, the government actively participates in suppressing press freedom and works tirelessly to eradicate media freedom in Serbia.

Reporters Without Borders will soon publish its annual Index. Last year, Serbia ranked at its lowest ever. Considering everything that has happened, how will it be ranked this year?

Reporters Without Borders will release the new World Press Freedom Index on April 30, at which point we will reveal the results. I cannot yet say what Serbia's ranking will be.

It is true that we have not seen any significant improvement. Last year, Serbia was ranked 96th out of 180 countries, which is not the lowest, but it had the lowest score of 53.55 points out of 100. This is a historical low for Serbia. It did not fall further in the rankings solely because the deterioration in other countries was more significant, but it is indeed already very low compared to other European countries. In fact, it is second to last in Europe.

I regularly visit Serbia. Given the seriousness of the situation, I will return to Serbia for a media freedom mission in March, during the week of March 23, along with colleagues from other international media freedom organizations, with the support of the Council of Europe. We want to meet with journalists, media representatives, gather first-hand information about the situation, discuss what we can do, and also meet with authorities to address these issues.

Recently, the media has faced a new form of digital violence and censorship, with bot attacks on media accounts on social networks. This is essentially an abuse of social media platform regulations. Has RSF discussed this with the platforms?

We have contacts with major platforms, but they generally do not follow our recommendations. I am aware of serious bot attacks on Serbian media. Our strategy is to work towards better regulation of social networks by the European Union to protect journalists and independent information and to prevent such situations from occurring.

A similar situation to that in Serbia can be found, for example, in Albania. This also applies to artificial intelligence and false content.

I am aware of the case of Brankica Stanković, who was a victim of a deepfake scam. Recently, we published an analysis of these deepfake attacks specifically targeting women. We provided recommendations directed primarily at European authorities.

Reporters Without Borders monitored the trial for the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. Recently, the Supreme Court identified serious shortcomings in the acquittal by the Appellate Court. You assessed this as a failure of the Serbian judiciary for Cenzolovka.

The case of Slavko Ćuruvija defines press freedom in Serbia. This case must one day be successfully resolved. We owe it to Slavko Ćuruvija's family, and I admire his daughter Jelena for her pursuit of justice through all legal means.

It is a disgrace. It is a disgrace for the Serbian state. It is a disgrace for the Serbian president who promised that the case would be resolved. The lack of justice creates a new injustice, affecting both the family and critics of the judicial system. And of course, above all, it is a disgrace for the Serbian judiciary.

Serbia has become a kind of jungle where there are no rules to protect journalists.

We are outraged by the video broadcast on several channels, which targets Veran Matić. Veran Matić is one of the individuals who has contributed the most to media freedom in Serbia.

I want to express my solidarity with him. He has also done a lot in the pursuit of justice in the case of Slavko Ćuruvija. Yet the entire system is turning against him, which is scandalous.

I call on the President of Serbia to clearly distance himself from this campaign. Otherwise, if anything happens to Veran Matić due to his work, we will hold the President of Serbia responsible. I said this in the case of Tamara Skrozze in the past, and I say this now in the case of Veran Matić.

The media community in Serbia has reacted, and a criminal complaint has been filed. International organizations have responded, but there has been no reaction from the political leadership. Those who created the video have reacted and announced that they will continue. Does RSF believe that Veran Matić is in danger? And how can he be protected?

I believe that Veran Matić is indeed in danger. I do not want to create panic. I think the primary actor responsible for his safety is the state, as he is a citizen of Serbia.

If the President of Serbia does not distance himself from this campaign, it appears that he has actually lost control of the situation. Solidarity with Veran is needed. I am very pleased that he has support in Serbia and partly at the international level. But you know, the first entity that can protect Veran Matić is the state.

This is Serbia's obligation. Veran Matić must be able to continue his work in protecting journalists. Therefore, we will try to support him.

Source: ANEM