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The representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for media freedom, Jan Bratu, assessed that there was an "unprecedented level of violence and intimidation of journalists" during the local elections on Sunday in Serbia and called on the Serbian authorities to condemn it "publicly and unambiguously."

The significance of local media has been emphasized countless times in various international documents, media research, and analyses, as well as in social theories. It is considered that the state of local information is an "indicator of the health of democracy," and that without strong and independent media, it "weakens at its most fundamental level." In countries like Serbia, where democracy exists only in fairy tales, local media finds itself in a dramatically difficult position. However, it must be noted that the crisis of local information is also identified in the most developed countries of the world, and has been for quite some time. This applies both to the sustainability of media and to the pressures they face and the safety of their employees.

During the local elections in Serbia on March 29, more disturbances and physical attacks on journalists by unknown individuals were recorded in 10 cities and municipalities, despite the fact that they were clearly marked as media representatives. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) strongly condemn the violence against journalists and urgently call on law enforcement and the prosecutor's office to promptly identify and arrest those responsible for these attacks.

The authorities benefit from the vacuum in which the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) does not exist, meaning that members of the Council have not been elected for nearly a year and a half, which coincides with the largest socio-political crisis in Serbia to date, says Saša Mirković, a representative of the Association of Independent Media (ANEM), in an interview with Danas.

The Basic Court in Novi Sad has rejected the proposal for a temporary measure to prohibit the publication of claims from the propaganda film by the Center for Social Stability, in which falsehoods about Veran Matić are presented, labeling him as a "traitor and foreign mercenary," thereby endangering his safety, announced the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).

Pavol Salaj, director of the Reporter Without Borders office in Prague, spoke to N1 about the drastic deterioration of journalist safety in Serbia, noting that attacks are becoming increasingly frequent and that trust in the police and prosecution has been severely undermined. Salaj warned that the situation is alarming and that there is a real danger of serious crimes against journalists.

Representatives of partner organizations of the Rapid Response Mechanism in the field of media freedom and the Council of Europe Platform for the Promotion of the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists today warned, in front of the location where Slavko Ćuruvija was murdered, that the situation regarding the safety of journalists in Serbia is "explosive."

Following the death of a student from the Faculty of Philosophy, the pro-regime tabloid Informer has spent the entire morning displaying dramatic video footage and photographs of her body from the crime scene, using this tragedy to settle scores with the student movement. They are calling for the arrest of Dean Danijel Sinani and Rector Vladan Đokić, accusing them of having "bloody hands." The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) is appalled by such reporting and warns that the publication of photographs threatens the dignity of the victim, the privacy of her family, and disturbs the public.

The public prosecutor of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office (BPO) in Zaječar, N. D., on the basis of Article 284, paragraph 1, item 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), on March 23, 2026, issued a decision dismissing the criminal complaint of Miljko Stojanović from Zaječar dated October 11, 2025, submitted to the Police Directorate in Zaječar against the head of the Police Directorate Zaječar, I. J. from Sokobanja, and officer I. V. from the Traffic Police Department of the Police Directorate Zaječar, for one count of the criminal offense of abuse and torture under Article 137, paragraph 3 in connection with paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code (CC), as there are no grounds for suspicion that a criminal offense subject to prosecution ex officio has been committed.