Media freedom in Serbia is at a "dangerous turning point" due to increasing pressure on independent media from ministers and state-backed outlets, a group of prominent editors has warned.
"The media in Serbia is at a dangerous turning point," the editors wrote in an open letter signed by the editorial offices of five media outlets, including Igor Božić, news director of N1 Serbia, a media outlet affiliated with CNN, writes the British Guardian.
The editors, who come from media outlets within the independent media group United Media, said their journalists face "constant harassment, physical attacks and smear campaigns" for their reporting from a country rocked by protests against autocratic President Aleksandar Vučić, the outlet reported.
Their public address followed what appears to be the largest anti-corruption protest in Serbian history this month. The mass gathering in Belgrade marked the culmination of four months of anti-government protests following the tragic collapse of a concrete canopy at a Novi Sad train station in November last year, killing 16 people, the article said.
Civil society organizations have been warning for months about an increasingly hostile environment for independent media since the tragedy, which sparked a political rebellion against Vučić's pro-Russian administration.
"The government is stepping up attacks on independent journalism, particularly targeting media outlets within United Media, as the political crisis deepens and public discontent grows. Instead of addressing the real problems of citizens, the government is pushing false narratives that portray independent media outlets as foreign agents and enemies of the state. As a result, our journalists have been attacked, prevented from attending official events, and exposed to disinformation aimed at undermining public trust," the Guardian reported.
The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that pressure on the media in Serbia has reached levels not seen since the 1990s. They also called on the EU to condemn the raid on the offices of the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), an NGO that runs a well-known fact-checking website, the text said.
Pavol Salaj, head of RSF's EU and Balkans division, writes The Guardian, said that last year Serbia ranked 98th out of 180 countries on the world press freedom index — the worst ranking in the 22 years that the index has existed.
Numerous incidents of hostility towards independent journalists have been recorded since the accident at the railway station. Late last year, N1 journalist Žaklina Tatalović and cameraman Nikola Popović were harassed while reporting from a protest, it said. Local media freedom organizations reported at the time that Tatalović and Popović were subjected to sexist insults and physical violence. The police were accused of failing to react, the text says.
Another N1 journalist, Jelena Mirković, was attacked while reporting from a protest against the demolition of the bridge, it is recalled. She suffered, the Guardian reports, a neck injury that left her unable to work. Last month, N1 journalist Ksenija Pavkov was verbally threatened while reporting, it is noted.
In the letter, a group of editors allege that Vučić falsely accuses journalists of "inciting unrest," The Guardian reports. They also point out that financial and regulatory pressures are being used to deter advertisers and business partners, the media outlet adds.
“Given the student protests and the dissolved government awaiting new elections, we are deeply concerned about the safety of our journalists in the field,” they wrote. “The growing hostility towards independent media, fueled by the orchestrated rhetoric of the authorities, has created an environment in which violence is not only permitted but encouraged. In the last four months alone, our female journalists, including Žaklina Tatalović, Ksenija Pavkov and Jelena Mirković, have been subjected to physical and verbal attacks. Despite clear video evidence of the attackers, the police have done nothing to bring them to justice,” the Guardian reported in an open letter from the editors of UM.
More than half a million people have also signed an online petition demanding an independent investigation into whether Serbian security forces used sonic weapons — what the petition describes as a “sonic cannon” — during the March 15 protests. Vučić continues to face pressure and is at the most difficult moment of his XNUMX-year rule. Protests have become a regular occurrence in Serbia since November. The president has so far tried to shift blame, while a series of resignations followed the station accident, the Guardian reports.
"The Serbian government, led by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, officially resigned last week, and Vučić announced that elections could be held in June. Protesters are demanding accountability for the disaster in Novi Sad, as well as more transparent institutions based on the rule of law. More than a dozen people have been charged in connection with the canopy collapse. On Friday, it was announced that a teenager had died from injuries sustained in the accident," the British media outlet wrote.
Around 325.000 people took to the streets of Belgrade on March 15, although the government disputed those estimates. Footage showed the crowd suddenly breaking up, with some complaining of symptoms linked to the use of sound weapons. However, senior government officials and police have denied that such weapons were used. Vučić has called the claim a “vicious lie” aimed at “destroying Serbia,” the Guardian concludes.
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