Veran Matić: In the last two years, the security situation for journalists has drastically deteriorated.

Matić points out that in the last two years, the safety situation for journalists has deteriorated sharply and drastically.

According to him, there has been an increase in threats, security risks, and attacks, with the number of physical assaults on journalists rising fourfold just in the past year, part of which, he claims, was perpetrated by the police.

At the same time, he emphasizes the almost complete impunity. He states that out of more than 200 reported cases in the past two years, only six have reached a judicial conclusion.

“On one hand, we have an increase in the number of attacks, and on the other, a decrease in their resolution,” notes Veran Matić, adding that journalists and media have practically been left without institutional protection.

“We, as ANEM and the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, when we travel across Serbia, encounter a situation where journalists feel completely helpless and often wonder whether to even report cases to the relevant authorities. The police have been intensively obstructing investigations into attacks on journalists for the past two years, which is something truly unprecedented in European contexts,” adds Matić.

He also warns that the number of SLAPP lawsuits against journalists and media is increasing, filed by powerful individuals who raise charges without any grounds, and points out that there is also an intention to destroy entire editorial teams.

According to him, problems also exist within the judiciary - there are divisions in the prosecutor's offices, and a large number of prosecutors prefer to dismiss criminal charges for endangering journalists' safety rather than fight for freedom of expression and their protection.

He adds that there has been a change in judicial practice.

“A few years ago, there was an intention to protect freedom of speech and the media, whereas now we have situations where judges side with those who wish to harm journalists and freedom of speech,” says Matić, assessing that all of this further impacts the deterioration of journalists' safety and the overall assessment of the situation.

Veran Matić notes that there has been recorded installation of spyware on journalists’ mobile phones and computers, which, he states, has been confirmed by expertise from international organizations such as Amnesty International.

At the same time, he emphasizes that there is a lack of institutional response - as he states, the police deny these allegations, while prosecutors do not show activity in prosecuting such cases.

According to him, surveillance and invasion of privacy of journalists and activists have become a widespread phenomenon that is tolerated and, as he claims, is evidently directed by the state.

Matić states that daily targeting and defamation of journalists by government representatives, including high-ranking officials, have also become a widespread phenomenon.

As he points out, such messages often contain hate speech and are difficult to explain to international organizations.

He adds that such outbursts are often the cause of multi-day campaigns in tabloids, which are then transferred to social media.

According to him, these messages not only represent a threat but also cause serious distress, especially among female journalists and media workers who are particularly exposed to this situation.

Matić warns that journalists are facing a whole range of problems, including, as he states, mass attacks by bots on media accounts on social networks in the past two months.

“There is an obvious desire to create a mechanism by which the digital space can be darkened at the same time, and that when the authorities wish, social media accounts can practically be shut down, thus preventing the citizens from being informed in that manner,” states Matić, who adds that this is part of a broad front of pressures on journalists and media, warning that, besides safety, the lives of certain female and male journalists are also at risk.

Source: Insajder