Frequent attacks on journalists during protests and blockades across Serbia.

The trend of attacks on journalists at public gatherings has unfortunately become a common practice. It has also become a regular occurrence for those working in the public interest to face constant threats and assaults, as well as a lack of response from those who should protect them.

The police do not respond even to the prosecutors' offices. Of the 62 cases opened by prosecutors in Serbia, only in 34 cases did the police conduct investigative actions and submit reports to the prosecutors so that they could proceed further. In the remaining cases, that is, in more than half, this did not happen. This has never occurred since 2016, when we started monitoring this statistic. Therefore, we can speak of a certain type of obstruction by the police when it comes to attacks on journalists, states Veran Matić, a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists.

The hate speech that we often hear in the public sphere, which comes from the top of the government, where the editorial offices of independent media are labeled with derogatory names and their work is equated with terrorism, is not only wrong but also extremely dangerous, warns Matić.

This creates an atmosphere conducive to the actual raids by investigative bodies, at least parts of the investigative bodies that are loyal to the (government) on these television stations (Nova and N1), in order to fulfill the desires expressed through the frequent appearances of the highest government officials in Serbia, says the interlocutor.

One of the ways in which government officials deal with "disobedient" journalists is through layoffs, which are more often faced by women, as they are more prevalent in the media. In a situation where more and more media outlets are shutting down, lacking support and financial resources, media workers have nowhere to find employment.

Our colleague from "Novosti" was fired solely for posting a photo on social media showing that she had attended one of the protests. A colleague from "Ella" magazine also lost her job — these were the first two cases. Recently, two more colleagues from "Politika," along with several others, mostly female journalists, have been included on layoff lists ("Euronews"), emphasizes Matić.

The interlocutor believes it is important to assist those who, in working for the public interest, have paid the price by losing their source of income, by providing them with legal assistance and the opportunity to find new prospects through support from unions and associations that protect their interests.

Source: Foruminfo.rs