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.

KRIK is currently facing 16 Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), vexatious legal actions intended to intimidate the defendants rather than seek justice. Two of these, whose trial began recently, were initiated by Appellate Court Judge Dušanka Đorđević and her husband Aleksandar, a lawyer engaged by the Ministry of Finance.

The couple accuses KRIK’s Stevan Dojčinović and Bojana Pavlović of data protection violations, after the journalists published details about Judge Đorđević’s assets and career in an award winning database aiming to increase transparency in the judiciary. According to KRIK, all the data was lawfully obtained from publicly accessible sources.

The plaintiffs seek penalties of €6,500 in damages, 10-month prison sentences, and 2-year bans on journalism for the accused journalists. Any conviction would set a dangerous precedent and severely undermine press freedom.

The lawsuits exhibit all the characteristics of SLAPPs, as they seem to aim to intimidate the journalists rather than addressing legitimate legal concerns.

The MFRR consortium believes that the case is part of a broader campaign to silence KRIK for its investigative journalism. The outcome will be a test for the Serbian judiciary’s independence and commitment to the rule of law. It will also be a test of the judiciary’s ability to provide a fair trial and to ensure that the presiding judges are not unduly influenced by their colleagues bringing the case.

A guilty verdict will have a terrible chilling effect on the media and potentially spell the end of investigative public interest journalism in the country.

We stand in solidarity with KRIK and its journalists. The MFRR believes that this case presents all the features of a SLAPP and the relevant EU provisions, including early dismissal, should be taken into account by the judiciary. Furthermore, our consortium calls on the Serbian authorities to refer to the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on countering the use of SLAPPs, aligning domestic safeguards to prevent similar cases in the future with international human rights standards.

The MFRR will continue to monitor the case closely, to advocate for the public’s right to hold power accountable and against the erosion of independent journalism.