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The National Working Group for the Fight Against SLAPP expresses serious concern regarding the ruling of the Second Basic Court in Belgrade, which has ordered the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation to pay a total of 1,035,000 dinars to Milan Radonjić, Ratko Romić, and Miroslav Kurak, after former members of the State Security filed a lawsuit against the Foundation due to a statement expressing dissatisfaction with the final acquittal ruling of the Appeals Court in the case of the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija.

The Second Basic Court in Belgrade has issued a ruling in the case against the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, stating that the Foundation is obliged to pay three former members of the State Security Service, Miroslav Kurak, Ratko Romić, and Milan Radonjić, 200,000 dinars each as compensation for damage to reputation and honor, as well as an additional 435,000 dinars for legal costs. In total, according to the first-instance ruling, the Foundation is required to pay 1,035,000 dinars.

Media freedom in Serbia continues to rapidly decline. Ahead of the early parliamentary elections, there is growing fear that President Aleksandar Vučić wants to further silence all independent media, writes the Dutch media outlet Trouw.

The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIT) confirmed today to the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) that as soon as it determined that the candidates for members of the commissions for the evaluation of media projects, Slavoljub Ristić and Biljana Ratković Njegovan, had become public officials, it blocked the possibility for them to be elected to the commissions.

In April 2026, the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) recorded a total of **18 incidents involving journalists and media workers**. Two actual attacks and six cases of death threats and threats to the physical safety of journalists were documented, along with six other threats to journalists. Additionally, two attacks on media and media organizations, as well as two other threats to the media, were also recorded. Although a lower number of threats and attacks on journalists was noted, this did not reduce the level of their vulnerability. Throughout April, a violent narrative against the media continued, and serious threats were directed at journalists and media outlets. A severe and very violent threat was recorded against a female journalist, containing elements of gender-based violence, as well as serious targeting of journalists and media by high public officials in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

Slavko Ćuruvija, the owner of the first private daily newspaper in Serbia, "Dnevni Telegraf," was murdered on April 11, 1999, in front of his house in Belgrade. After decades of fighting for accountability, the case reached a turning point in February 2024, when the Appellate Court in Belgrade issued a final acquittal for four former members of the State Security from the time of Slobodan Milošević, who had previously been found guilty of the murder. Although the Supreme Court of Serbia determined in January 2026 that this acquittal was based on "serious violations of the law" and misrepresented evidence, the ruling remains legally binding due to procedural protections. Today, this case is stalled in a state of complete impunity.

Member states of the European Union must demonstrate political leadership and join calls for the suspension of European funds to Serbia in order to prevent the spiral of violence against journalists from escalating into deadly attacks, ten media and press freedom organizations stated on Friday in a series of letters addressed to ministers for European affairs across Europe.

Pro-government media outlets such as Informer, Srpski Telegraf, Alo, Kurir, and Večernje Novosti, along with their associated portals, have received over 2.8 million euros for media projects from local governments, the Ministry of Information, and the Provincial Secretariat during a decade of project co-financing, according to research by Cenzolovka. More than half of this amount came from the budget of the City of Belgrade—approximately 1.5 million euros. With the funds that the City generously allocated to these tabloids, it could have provided 680,000 meals for users of the Soup Kitchen, purchased around thirty ambulances, acquired eight mammography machines, or built a small kindergarten.