Meeting of Journalists and Prosecutors: Journalists in Serbia Are Becoming Increasingly Unprotected and Are Becoming Easy Targets

As highlighted at the beginning of the meeting by the President of the ANEM Management Board, Veran Matić, official data indicates that during 2024, the efficiency of institutions in the domain of journalist safety has sharply declined.

Out of 62 open cases, a guilty verdict was rendered in only one, compared to 12 verdicts in 2023. In more than half of the cases, the police did not submit the investigation results to the prosecution. In the first three months of 2025, the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office recorded 20 open cases, of which only one resulted in an indictment proposal, while in the other cases, the necessary information was requested from the police.

In the database maintained by the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS), nine physical attacks, 21 verbal threats, two attacks on property, and 60 cases of pressure on journalists and media have been recorded in the first three months of 2025.

During the meeting in Novi Sad, experiences were exchanged regarding specific cases of attacks on journalists, particularly highlighting incidents involving the Al Jazeera team in Stara Pazova, a physical attack on a cameraman in Novi Sad, an attack on IN Media journalist Verica Marinčić, as well as verbal threats against N1 journalist Sanja Kosović. Participants expressed concern over the slow response of institutions, the inefficiency in prosecuting perpetrators, and the increasingly frequent cases of impunity.

“We have a paradoxical situation. Cases involving journalists should be handled in an expedited manner, but despite a heightened sense of vulnerability among journalists, we are becoming increasingly unprotected. Radical cases end without sanctions, which deeply troubles and disturbs us. Journalists are thus becoming easy targets. At public events, we expect the police to protect journalists and to respond quickly when something happens. Threats are becoming more severe and intense, while journalism is becoming increasingly unprotected,” emphasized the President of the ANEM Management Board, Veran Matić, adding that it is crucial for all institutions to perform their duties to halt this trend.

Boris Majlat, Special Prosecutor for High-Tech Crime, presented the results of investigations related to threats issued via social media. He also emphasized the problems faced by the prosecution regarding the reassignment of trained prosecutors in this specific area to other prosecutor's offices, which reduces the professional capacity to address cases involving the safety of journalists.

Dinko Gruhonjić from the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) stressed that nothing has been done regarding his safety as well as the safety of Ana Lalić.

“The Ministry of Interior assessed our safety and concluded that we are safe. We are literally condemned to learn martial arts, or, like me, to move cautiously around the city. I have no doubt that the state is my enemy. Behind everything stands the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, the executive power, and the state itself. They incite, which is then conveyed through pro-government tabloids, and then the zombies watching all of this feel entitled to approach us on the street and say all kinds of things. The state considers us state enemies and political opponents, which we are not. That is the reality of how we live; everything else is a farce,” Gruhonjić emphasized.

Prosecutors presented information at the meeting regarding actions taken in specific cases and pointed out institutional obstacles and legal limitations, highlighting that in some cases, actions were taken ex officio. The need for specialization of prosecutors in cases concerning journalist safety was also emphasized.

“Our team was attacked in February when high school students and college students walked from Inđija. One man started shouting at us, insulting us, calling us Ustaše. The police responded adequately, and we were informed that the gentleman was detained during the day. He was given a restraining order against Verica Marinčić and me. After that, on TV Informer, Vučićević made vile statements and called us Ustaše, which is additional pressure. On social media, we continue to be called Ustaše and foreign mercenaries,” noted Miodrag Blečić from IN Media in Inđija.

Media representatives and associations agreed that amending the Criminal Code is crucial for more effective protection of journalists, especially regarding physical attacks and serious threats. The need for building trust and improving communication between journalists, police, and prosecutors was also highlighted.

Uglješa Bokić from Danas emphasized that the current legal protection is insufficient and that verbal offenses are punished more severely than physical attacks.

“The only solution is to amend the Criminal Code to provide better protection for journalists. Verbal offenses are more punishable than physical attacks on journalists. I was present when a cameraman from Euronews was attacked, and not a single police officer reacted. We are aware of the police's disregard for the prosecution regarding information gathering. As for my case – a fracture of the collarbone is considered a minor bodily injury by the prosecution. But my injuries are not minor. However, the issue is the expert assessment. I did not appeal because there is no legal possibility to pursue the attackers; I would have to do it privately in court,” recounted Uglješa Bokić.

Marko Mišković, a public prosecutor from the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Sremska Mitrovica, specified that prosecutors and journalists are in the same category of protection under the Criminal Code. “We cannot pull police officers by the hand to act ex officio. I cannot accept generalizations because everyone should bear individual responsibility,” said Mišković.

At yesterday's gathering in Novi Sad, participants particularly addressed the attack on journalist 021 Zoran Strika, who was reporting on an incident that occurred during the departure of SNS supporters from Novi Sad to a rally in Belgrade on April 12. The relevant prosecutor stated that work is currently underway on this case and reviewing all details.

“At one point, a man who was passing by and filming was knocked to the ground, and two people were hitting him. I started filming, but I did not approach. While I was filming, one man rushed towards me and tried to grab my phone. I said I was a journalist, and he did not manage to take my phone. I started to distance myself from that place, encountered a guy who had been attacked and who had visible injuries. I spoke with him, we called the police and told them where we were and what had happened. I gave him my phone to call someone. Then, three young men in hoodies showed up, looking for the phone. One of them took my phone from the young man. I said that the phone was mine, that I was a journalist, and I tried to get it back. However, they threw it into the Danube,” Strika recalled what happened on April 12.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to continue working on institutional cooperation and initiatives for legal amendments that will enable better protection for journalists, and that all attacks and pressures be documented and reported to the relevant authorities.

Representatives from ANEM, NUNS, UNS, NDNV, the Center for the Development of Local Media, media houses Al Jazeera Balkans, Danas, Radio 021, Insajder, IN Media, Razglas news, Autonomija, Moj Novi Sad, Storyteller, as well as public prosecutors from Novi Sad, Sremska Mitrovica, Stara Pazova, and Inđija attended the discussion.

Since 2023, the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists has visited 16 local communities and met with over 350 journalists, prosecutors, and police officers to discuss ongoing and unresolved cases of threats and attacks on media professionals. Although the work of the working group was frozen in February this year, key mechanisms developed through the initiative – such as the contact point system – remain operational.

This project is supported by the European Union and the Balkan Democracy Fund.