The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) insists that national governments are held accountable when journalists are killed or targeted across the world, in particular those in Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, and Syria as a result of the war in Gaza. The appeal comes on 2 November, the 10th anniversary of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
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25. okt 2024.
Statement by Member States of the CoD Governing Council regarding Belarusian pro-democracy activist Andrei Gnyot
We, the undersigned members of the Community of Democracies Governing Council, express deep concern over the request for extradition of Belarusian filmmaker and activist Mr. Andrei Gnyot from Serbia. Extradition of democratic activists to the autocratic Minsk regime, which notoriously violates international law, including human rights, undermines the democratic principles enshrined in the Warsaw Declaration, and is incompatible with adherence to the rules-based international order.
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15. okt 2024.
Serbian judge’s lawsuits set to chill press freedom
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expresses grave concern regarding the legal threats facing the Serbian investigative news organization KRIK and its journalists. These abusive legal actions include demands for imprisonment and bans from journalism. We stand with the journalists on trial, and urge Serbia to implement anti-SLAPP safeguards to protect independent media.
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11. okt 2024.
No justice for journalists targeted by Israel despite strong evidence of war crime (VIDEO)
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09. okt 2024.
What’s your media job: how Predrag Blagojevic built and left Južne vesti
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30. avg 2024.
Tabloidi objavili da je pokrenut sistem „Pronađi me“, MUP demantovao
Večeras, nešto pre 22 časa, na sajtovima tabloida Telegraf i Alo pojavila se vest da je aktiviran sistem "Pronađi me" i da se traga za devetogodišnjim detetom koja je duboko uznemirala javnost. Za N1 potvrđeno je iz MUP-a da sistem nije aktiviran, a tu informaciju potvrdio je i Igor Jurić.
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07. avg 2024.
Women Press Freedom Condemns Government Smear Campaign Against Tamara Skrozza
Women Press Freedom offers its full support to FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza, who is facing a coordinated defamation campaign from media outlets closely linked to the Serbian government. Allegations claim that Skrozza supported the assassination of senior Serbian officials during the uprising against former President Slobodan Milosevic. Government minister Dejan Ristic has received criticism for allegedly backing the smear campaign against the journalist. This recent attack is part of a trend of harassment and defamation by pro-government tabloids, with similar incidents targeting her in 2018 and 2016. Skrozza intends to take legal action against the media responsible for spreading these falsehoods. We strongly condemn Minister Ristic's actions and reject the unfounded accusations against Skrozza. We call for a public apology and accountability from those involved in the campaign against the journalist.
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31. jul 2024.
Escalation of attacks on journalists
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31. jul 2024.
Journalists’ associations, opposition condemn media campaign against Skrozza
Serbian journalists’ associations and opposition condemned the media campaign launched against journalist and Fonet news agency senior editor Tamara Skrozza.
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18. jul 2024.
Surge in SLAPPs Hits Serbia’s Independent Media Hard
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25. jun 2024.
Solidarity with the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation in their quest for justice
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition partners stand firm in solidarity with the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, which has unwaveringly campaigned against the continued impunity for the 1999 murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. New legal action brought by two of the individuals acquitted of Ćuruvija’s murder now threatens to undermine the foundation’s campaign for justice.
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20. jun 2024.
Serbia: KRIK journalists facing SLAPPs after publishing the profile of Judge Dušanka Đorđević in database
The undersigned journalists and media freedom organisations condemn the legal actions filed by Judge Dušanka Đorđević and her husband against Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK), its editor-in-chief Stevan Dojčinović, and journalist Bojana Pavlović. The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition considers those legal actions as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), aiming at silencing KRIK for its investigative work. The SLAPPs are vexatious legal actions that are pursued as a means of harassing or intimidating journalists, media outlets, and other public watchdogs.
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15. jun 2024.
How Serbia’s CINS Pushes Investigative Journalism Outside the State Media ‘Bubble’
In November 2023, campaigns for snap parliamentary elections in Serbia were in full swing. At a large call center in the capital, Belgrade, more than 100 people telephoned citizens to canvas support for the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) — co-founded by Serbia’s current president, Aleksandar Vučić — which has been in power since 2012 and holds a strong grip over the country.
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13. jun 2024.
Journalists harassed, obstructed, attacked in Serbia’s election period
Serbian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent attacks against journalists covering elections, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday.
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11. jun 2024.
Statement by Jelena Ćuruvija, Honorary president of the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation: The truth about my father’s murder is too difficult for our political reality. It is easier to threaten me and forbid me to know the truth
My father has been gone for 25 years. It seems we are compelled to adopt such phrasing. To say “he is no longer here” as if he had simply vanished on his own, to avoid reiterating that he was murdered, executed, liquidated..., says Jelena Ćuruvija, daughter of the murdered journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, regarding the lawsuit by former State Security Service official Milan Radonjić against the foundation which she founded and of which she is the honorary president.
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07. jun 2024.
Open season on journalists during Serbia’s municipal elections
Serbia’s local elections on 2 June saw a surge in press freedom violations, with reporters being subjected to physical and verbal attacks and smear campaigns carried by tabloid media outlets. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the authorities to make every effort to arrest those responsible for the violence and to guarantee journalists’ safety.
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05. jun 2024.
Serbia: Continued attacks against journalists must stop
The SafeJournalists network, Media Freedom Rapid Response partners, and Coalition for Media Freedom condemn the ongoing attacks on journalists in Serbia. This growing pressure has been recently exemplified by a physical attack on journalist Vuk Cvijić, and the demand for prison sentences for the journalists of the media outlets KRIK and Pištaljka. We call on the authorities to prioritize addressing the rise in attacks against the press and to genuinely commit to improving the safety of journalists.
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01. jun 2024.
Serbian Judge Sues KRIK Journalists for Publishing her Profile
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21. maj 2024.
New report highlights growing risk for environmental journalism
UNESCO published a report entitled “Press and planet in danger”, showcasing the trends and challenges of the safety of environmental journalists. It shows a spike in attacks over the last five years (2019-2023) with a 42% increase compared to the 2014-2018 period, making the situation more serious than ever.
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10. maj 2024.
In Serbia, a ‘witch-hunt’ for journalists who don’t toe government line
“A real epidemic of attacks.” That’s the way Serbian journalist, advocate, and professor Dinko Gruhonjić characterized the state of press freedom in his country in a recent op-ed for the media-focused news site Cenzolovka. Gruhonjić faced severe online harassment after a doctored video in which he appears to praise a war criminal was circulated online in March.