Serbia in Europe among countries with the highest number of SLAPP lawsuits.

The Head of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, Karolina Hidea, stated at a gathering in the Envoj Center in Belgrade that these lawsuits pose a threat to media freedoms and that the number of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) has significantly increased in recent years.

"Businesspeople and politicians are the most common filers of such lawsuits, while journalists, activists, and civil society are the victims. The time and energy that journalists lose cannot be recovered. Dozens of such lawsuits have been filed in Serbia. The European Parliament has recognized this issue, but it is important to understand that not every lawsuit against journalists is a SLAPP," said Hidea.

The Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Plamena Halačeva, assessed that the goal of these legal proceedings is to drain the resources of those who are fighting for freedom of speech.

"Serbia is among the countries in Europe with the highest number of SLAPP lawsuits. Institutions need to make an effort to address this problem. We must help those who are marginalized, not silence them," Halačeva stated.

The Executive Director of the organization Partneri Srbija, Ana Toskić Cvetković, noted that there is no precise statistic regarding the number of SLAPP cases in Serbia.

"In 2023, 10 cases were recorded, and in 2024, 17 cases were pursued solely against journalists, while we do not know how many have been filed against activists and civil society organizations. Civil, misdemeanor, and criminal proceedings have been initiated," Toskić Cvetković mentioned.

She assessed that such proceedings negatively affect freedom of expression.

Source: Beta