Autor: Veran Matić

English version below

Već nedelju dana pripremamo se za izborni dan „kao za rat“. Svakodnevni sastanci predstavnika udruženja i asocijacija novinara i medija, Stalne radne grupe za bezbednost novinara. Određujemo kontakt tačke širom Srbije, način na koji ćemo komunicirati, reagovati. Delimo zaštitnu opremu, šlemove, press prsluke i to po mogućstvu plave, jer žutih već ima previše na protestima.

Mnogi bi rekli da je sve to preterivanje, ali podaci o broju napada i pretnji na novinare pokazuju stalni rast, a istovremeno i pad kada je reč o broju rešenih slučajeva. Tužilaštvo uglavnom gleda na drugu stranu, dok policija više ne štiti novinare, čak ih i napada. Ostaje da se oslonimo na međusobnu solidarnost.  

Često sam dežuran na Sigurnoj liniji, ANEM-ovom SOS telefonu za prijavljivanje pretnji i napada na novinare. U poslednjoj nedelji pred izbore kristalno je jasno ono što međunarodne novinarske organizacije tvrde već godinu dana – od svih evropskih zemalja, u Srbiji je danas najteže biti novinar.  

Subota, 17. oktobar

Ne volim vikende. Tada se događa najviše napada na novinare i upućuje im se najviše pretnji. Vikend je i dramatično vreme za žene koje su izložene nasilju u porodici. Ne želim da gradim neku teoriju, ali znam da su u našoj profesiji novinarke izloženije agresiji i da su pod neverovatnim pretnjama. Čak i kada analizirate sadržaj pretnji upućenih novinarima, primećuje se da su prepune pretnji seksualnim nasiljem.  

U popodnevnim satima, advokat Ninić javlja da je nestao Ljubomir Stefanović, vlasnik portala i vrlo popularnog YouTube kanala Slavija-info, kojeg su već pre dve godine kidnapovali predstavnici BIA, čiji je mobilni telefon bio obrađivan uređajima za izvlačenje podataka i na koji je instaliran špijunski softver, bio je privođen, njegov stan i prostorije pretresane, oduzimani elektronski uređaji. Zato smo i sada zabrinuti.  Nestao je pošto je u njegovu kuću, dok je bio odsutan, provalila policija i nakon pretresa, odnela neke dokaze. Nije mogao da utvrdi koje, jer nije bio prisutan, a kuća je potom zapečaćena. Advokati pokušavaju da saznaju gde je. Čekamo jutro za nastavak akcije.  

Uveče, koleginica koja je najetičnija među nama, koju je svaka vlast satanizovala, kojoj je uništeno zdravlje, javlja da će ponovo morati van zemlje jer kod nas nema mogućnosti da dobije neophodnu zdravstvenu podršku. Grlimo se na daljinu. Znam da će, koliko god joj bude teško, biti uz sve nas ovde. Jednostavno jer je tako u mogućnosti, što bi rekli mladi. Tako je nekoliko generacija novinarki i novinara učeno da je javni interes iznad svega.  

Nedelja, 18. oktobar  

Novinar Ljubomir Stefanović nedostupan je već 24 sata. Ne javlja se ni porodici, ni redakciji, ni advokatima. Naravno, ređaju se asocijacije na kidnapovanje i ubistvo Ivana Stambolića, streljanje Slavka Ćuruvije… (više od 40 godina sam svedok svog zla prema novinarima i medijima).  

Pišem u ime ANEM-a javni zahtev policiji i tužilaštvu da odgovore na pitanje gde je novinar protiv kojeg su, očigledno, pokrenuli neki postupak.  

Ubrzo stiže odgovor, ne kao zvanično saopštenje institucija, već preko glasnogovornika Aleksandra Vučića, televizije Informer, iz čega zaključimo da nije u njihovim rukama, tj. zatvoru. Tražimo dalje, jer od policije i tužilaštva imamo mnogo moćnije parapolicijske snage lojalne bivšem predsedniku, a u čijem su sastavu nasilnici, kriminalci i ubice.

Javljaju nam se koleginice iz Bečejskog mozaika i novobečejskog Webinfo. Onemogućeno im je da prate promociju SNS na događaju koji je očigledno organizovao Fond PIO. Imale su koleginice mnogo pitanja da postave, ali su fizički sprečene da prisustvuju susretu funkcionera SNS sa odabranih 150 penzionerki i penzionera. Pišemo protest institucijama i alarm javnosti. Dokumentujemo diskriminaciju i ometanje rada novinara, praćenje predizbornih aktivnosti.  

Ponedeljak, 19. oktobar

Željko Matorčević sa portala Žig info iz Grocke, surovo prebijen 2018. godine, neposredno pre nego što je njegovom kolegi Milanu Jovanoviću zapaljena kuća iz koje se jedva živ spasao, objavljuje tekst o 47 prijavljenih glasača na adresi lokalnog pogrebnog preduzeća. Reklo bi se - ništa novo, ali posle par sati Željko nam šalje snimak telefonskog razgovora: pozvala ga je žena koja živi na toj adresi sa eksplicitnim pretnjama da će ga prebiti bez objašnjenja o 47 glasača iz pogrebnog zavoda. Zajedno prijavljujemo slučaj tužilaštvu i policiji.  

Dobijamo informaciju da je Ljubomir Stefanović napustio zemlju. Uskoro se obraća video izjavom u kojoj navodi da se sklonio kako bi izbegao privođenje, zadržavanje, kućni pritvor, zabranu korišćenja interneta… što bi ga onemogućilo da radi novinarski i urednički posao. Kasnije saznajemo da je u Crnoj Gori.

Smeta mi što koristi termin „bekstvo“, jer mislim da ga je vlast u Srbiji naterala da napusti zemlju, očekujući da će tako da zaustavi njegov angažman.  Stefanović je, posle Aleksandra Radića, sedmi novinar iz Srbije u egzilu, pored još pet 
koji su ranije izmešteni ili su sami napustili zemlju zbog ugrožene bezbednosti. Radiću i Stefanoviću direktno je pretio zatvor i sudski procesi.  

Novinari u egzilu posebno su ranjivi u prvim danima i nastojim da pomognem baš tada… Prikupljamo podršku ne samo za životne troškove, već i za tehniku koja bi omogućila nastavak rada sa nove lokacije.

Izuzetno je važno da se osujeti namera represivnog aparata da ugasi slobodu govora i objektivno informisanja progonom novinara.  

Utorak, 20. oktobar  

Dan za ponos za novinare redakcije Mašina i Mladena Savatovića, dobitnike nagrade „Dušan Bogavac“ za etiku i hrabrost. Na ovo priznanje uvek sam gledao kao na neko preliminarno za sve ostalo u novinarskoj karijeri: etika – poštovanje novinarskog kodeksa, i hrabrost da ne pokleknete pred različitim izazovima i posvetite svoj život zaštiti javnog interesa. Mašina i Mladen pokazali su i jedno i drugo u većim razmerama od uobičajenih. Nagradu itekako zaslužili!

Ali, stiže šokantna informacija iz Prijepolja. TV Forum, prvi medij civilnog društva, medij koji su osnovale žene, sa svim potrebnim dozvolama, brutalno je, bez ikakve najave, pregažen signalom Informer TV na Telekomovom kablovskom sistemu. U tom trenutku u Prijepolju se odvija promocija Studentske liste, ali na njihovom kanalu, sa znakom TV Forum, ide program Informer TV, odnosno prenos predstavljanja liste Aleksandar Vučić – Ujedinjena Srbija u Čačku. Nasilje i okupacija kanala traju skoro 24 sata.

Pišemo proteste zarobljenim ili nefunkcionalnim institucijama. Ostaje nam jedino da budemo glasni. Pošto je pročitao našu objavu, poziva me predstavnik jedne ambasade da me pita da li je dobro pročitao i da li je to moguće… Kažem mu da je ovo još jedan model uništavanja nezavisnih medija.  

Već godinu dana susrećem se sa činjenicom da predstavnici međunarodne zajednice, od Brisela preko nacionalnih administracija do diplomatskih predstavništava, redovno registruju dramatične brojeve napada i pretnji, SLAPP tužbe, diskriminaciju medija, targetiranja novinara od strane donedavnog predsednika i svih iz vlasti... Ali, opet, teško im je da sve to zajedno pojme i procesuiraju, jer bi to onda značilo da su i oni, koji sa takvom vlašću sarađuju i često je podržavaju – saučesnici. I mislim da je veliki problem što nema ozbiljne institucionalne podrške profesionalnim novinarima i medijima u Srbiji.  

Umesto da priznaju realno stanje i donesu konkretne mere kao što je na primer, Vlada Švedske zaustavila već dogovorenu finansijsku podršku srpskoj vladi, deo kao podršku preusmerila civilnom sektoru i donela odluku da neće učestvovati na EXPO 2027, verovatno jednom od najvećih koruptivnih projekata u Evropi – zaustavljaju se na mlakim upozorenjima i kontinuitetu odnosa sa vlastima u Srbiji.

Kada sam bio mali, i kad bih doživeo neku nepravdu, zamišljao sam i priželjkivao da mi se nešto desi, da umrem, pa da gledam da li će onima na koje sam ljut biti žao, i ko će sve da plače. Imam utisak kada razgovaramo sa predstavnicima međunarodne zajednice, naročito onog dela koji može efikasnije da utiče na promenu u ponašanju represivne vlasti, da se čeka upravo taj trenutak - da nas nema, pa da će tada reći i uraditi nešto što će vlast zapamtiti.

...

Na protestu sam solidarnosti sa redakcijom portala Nova.rs, ali i sa N1, Nova S TV, Danasom, Radarom… gledamo kako se u isto vreme organizuju protesti i u Ljubljani, Zagrebu, Sarajevu, Podgorici. Nije dovoljno, nikad dovoljno ljudi i solidarnosti. Vuk Cvijić mi pokazuje naslovnu stranicu Radara koji će izaći u četvrtak. Priča o tekstu. Već sam spreman za pretnje koje će neminovno dobiti. Supruga Bojana je izvršna urednica u Nova.rs.  

Imam posebnu brigu, jer su mi poznate i Vukova i Bojanina nepokolebljivost. Nastojim da ne reagujem samo kada se već dogodi pretnja i napad, već i da pokušam kakvu-takvu preventivu. Ali više nisam siguran da imamo neki prostor za efikasnu preventivu. Kada ste profesionalni novinar ili novinarka, i kada imate snažnu potrebu da štite javni interes, onda nema puno prostora za taktiziranja. Iznosiš sve što saznaš i možeš da dokažeš u javnost koja ima pravo i mora da zna. 

Sreda, 21. oktobar

Član dvojca podkasta „Dobar, loš, zao“ Nenad Kulačin šalje mi poruku da je dobio pretnju seksualnim nasiljem upućenu njemu i njegovoj supruzi, kao i Marku Vidojkoviću. Pretnja koju su dobili sadrži i poruku da će „doći po njih 26.10“. Svakako su Nenad i Marko u vrhu na listi pretnji i uznemirujućih poruka, kao i njihove porodice, ali me uvek uznemiri sadržaj i nagomilavanje napada koje institucije ne procesuiraju. Prijavljujemo Tužilaštvu za visokotehnološki kriminal, ali ne očekujemo da će biti neki pomak, jer je već dugo i ovo tužilaštvo zarobljeno.  

Brinem za Nenada i njegovu porodicu. Marko je relociran i, posle tri godine, dobio je boravak u stranoj državi. Nenad iz porodičnih razloga nije mogao da se skloni iz dometa nasilnika. Nastojimo da pomognemo u preventivi, ali su nam mogućnosti ograničene. Kada obezbedimo video nadzor, nismo sigurni da li će to pomoći preventivno ili će samo nama pomoći da vidimo ko je izvršio nasilni akt. Ali, činimo sve što možemo.  

Četvrtak 22. oktobar

Izašao je Radar, čitam tekst Vuka Cvijića i Milana Radonjića o novim skaj prepiskama u kojima se vidi kako na dosadašnjeg predsednika, njegovog brata, sina i druge bliske ljude gledaju osobe iz vrha kriminala u regionu, govore o komunikaciji sa njima i uticaju na njihove odluke. To je nastavak teksta iz prošlog broja. Hrabro, ali nikako drugačije i ne bi moglo, znajući Vuka i Milana. Spreman sam za nove pretnje koje će uslediti, jer ne očekujem da će osobe koje se imenuju u ovoj prepisci biti pohapšene čak i kada znamo da je bivši predsednik, u ovom periodu ostao bez imuniteta.  

I zaista, slede pretnje napadom na porodicu, ubistvom dece. Prijavljujem po ko zna koji put tužilaštvu. Od onog napada direktora Srpskog telegrafa Lađevića na Vuka u centru grada, koji do danas nije dobio bilo kakvu kaznu, više se osećam kao hroničar napada na Vuka, nego što sam uspeo da nešto promenim prijavama tužilaštvu. Ali i on i ja znamo da je na nama da uradimo sve što možemo da ogolimo prirodu represivnog režima. I ne samo to, nego i da pomognemo svima koji su takođe ugroženi. Da učinimo vidljivim sve informacije koje govore o nesagledivoj korupciji i vezama vlasti sa organizovanim kriminalnom. Vuka, Milana i mnoge druge novinarke i novinare moramo da zaštitimo na načine koji su nam na raspolaganju. I više od toga.  

…

Pre dva dana, napadnuta je ekipa KTV i Nemanja Šarović, dok su snimali reportažu o kol centrima SNS na Novom Beogradu. Od Novih Banovaca su pratili autobuse kojima se prevoze oni koji rade u kol centrima. Očekivano, jedan od aktivista SNS napao je Šarovića, oteo mu telefon kojim je snimao i dao se u bekstvo. Šarović je krenuo za njim da vrati svoj telefon i sve je snimljeno. U međuvremenu, tabloidi su govorili o tome kako je Šarović napao građanina… Isto sam doživeo ispred Skupštine Srbije kada mi je otet mobilni kojim sam snimao događaj. Skupština Srbije je, umesto istražnim organima, snimak prosledila tabloidima koji su preneli laž da sam ja napao nasilnika!  

Tužiteljka, kontakt tačka Stalne radne grupe za bezbednost novinara, obaveštava me da je otvoren predmet i da radi na prikupljanju obaveštenja. Retko dobijamo povratne informacije od tužilaca i čini mi se kao da neko ipak radi svoj posao. Sledi teži deo posla: MUP već godinu i po dana opstruira istrage napada na novinare. Samo u ovoj godini, po evidenciji Vrhovnog javnog tužilaštva, od 99 prijavljenih slučajeva pretnji i napada do kraja avgusta, u čak 58 slučajeva MUP nije odgovorio na zahtev da prikupe obaveštenja.  

Petak, 23. oktobar

Cele nedelje imamo talas bot napada na sajtove velikog broja medija i organizacija civilnog društva. Pripreme za ono što najavljujemo od januara – nameru vlasti da, kada proceni da gubi izbore i kada odluči da ne prizna rezultate, blokira i naloge medija na društvenim mrežama i tako zamrači Srbiju uskraćujući joj slobodne i profesionalne informacije. Šer fondacija i novinarska i medijska udruženja radili su na informisanju provajdera o napadima i očekujemo da će i oni pomoći da se spreči ukidanje sloboda vezanih za internet.  

Zahvaljujući internetu, u Radiju B92 prevazišli smo zabranu još 1996. godine, a tokom 2000. godine kada su nam redakciju okupirali SPS jurišnici, preko interneta smo omogućili emitovanje programa autentičnog Radija B92 i njegove TV produkcije. Verujem u novinare i medije i ove 2026. godine i nadam se da će biti bolji i inovativniji  na internetu od režima, jer su nam i motivi i ciljevi potpuno suprotni - prosperitet, demokratija i sloboda protiv medijske pustinje, medijskog mraka i ugrožavanja života novinara i opstanka profesionalnih medija.  

…

Šta god da se dogodi u nedelju i u periodu koji joj sledi – položaj novinara i medija biće veoma težak, a već danas je medijska zajednica na ivici snaga i kapaciteta. Ne reaguje se ni na očigledne fizičke i druge napade, na ekonomski kolaps… Profesionalni novinari i mediji žive isključivo od svoje fanatične privrženosti osnovnim postulatima profesije, solidarnosti malog broja onih koji su u sličnoj situaciji i solidarnosti dela zajednice. U situaciji smo u kojoj svako dalje pogoršanje stanja u kojem su mediji i novinari može biti nepovratno. Zbog toga je od izuzetnog značaja da svako učini sve što može da se stvore bar bazični uslovi za rad izuzetnih u ovoj novinarskoj profesiji.  

Asocijacija nezavisnih elektronskih medija (ANEM) 
 

Projekat „Unapređenje sistema mehanizma prevencije i reagovanja u slučajevima pretnji po bezbednost i život novinarki i novinara u Srbiji“ sprovodi ANEM sa partnerima Insajder TV i Centar za razvoj lokalnih medija, uz podršku Evropske unije.

Misija OEBS-a u Srbiji podržala je projekat ANEM-a „24/7 SOS telefonska linija za pomoć novinarima i drugim ugroženim medijskim radnicima“, u okviru projekta koji finansira Evropska unija „Jačanje slobode izražavanja i slobode medija u Srbiji“.

 

---

A Duty Officer’s Diary at the Safe Line for Journalists’ Safety

Author: Veran Matić

For a week now, we have been preparing for election day “as if for war”. Daily meetings are being held with representatives of journalists’ associations and media organizations, as well as the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists. We are appointing contact points throughout Serbia and determining how we will communicate and respond. We are distributing protective equipment, helmets, and press vests, preferably blue ones, because there are already too many yellow vests at the protests.

Many would say that all of this is excessive, but the figures on attacks and threats against journalists show a steady increase, while the number of resolved cases is declining. The prosecution generally turns a blind eye, while the police no longer protect journalists and even attack them. We are left to rely on mutual solidarity.

I frequently serve as a duty officer on the Safe Line, ANEM’s SOS hotline for reporting threats and attacks against journalists. During the final week before the elections, one thing has become crystal clear: what international journalism organizations have been saying for a year now is true—in all of Europe, Serbia is currently the most difficult country in which to be a journalist.

Saturday, October 17

I don't like weekends. That is when most attacks against journalists take place and most threats are made against them. Weekends are also an especially dangerous time for women experiencing domestic violence. I don't want to construct a theory around this, but I know that women journalists in our profession are more exposed to aggression and face extraordinary levels of threats. Even when you analyze the content of threats directed at journalists, you notice that they are full of threats of sexual violence.

In the afternoon, lawyer Ninić informs us that Ljubomir Stefanović, the owner of the Slavija-info website and its very popular YouTube channel, has gone missing. Two years earlier, he had already been kidnapped by representatives of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA). His mobile phone had been examined using data-extraction devices, and spyware had been installed on it. He had been detained, his apartment and premises searched, and electronic devices confiscated. That is why we are worried now, too. He disappeared after police broke into his home while he was away, conducted a search, and took away some evidence. He could not determine what had been taken because he had not been there, and the house was subsequently sealed. Lawyers are trying to find out where he is. We are waiting until morning to continue our efforts.

In the evening, a colleague—the most ethical among us, whom every government has demonized and whose health has been destroyed—tells me that she will once again have to leave the country because she cannot obtain the medical support she needs here. We embrace each other from a distance. I know that, however difficult things may become for her, she will stand alongside all of us here. Simply because she can, as young people would say.

That is how several generations of journalists have been taught: the public interest comes above everything else.

Sunday, October 18

Journalist Ljubomir Stefanović has been unreachable for 24 hours. He is not responding to his family, his newsroom, or his lawyers. Naturally, our minds turn to the kidnapping and murder of Ivan Stambolić and the execution of Slavko Ćuruvija. (I have witnessed more than 40 years of the evil inflicted on journalists and the media).

On behalf of ANEM, I issue a public demand for the police and prosecution to answer one question: Where is the journalist against whom they have apparently initiated some kind of proceeding?

An answer soon arrives, not in the form of an official statement from the institutions, but through Aleksandar Vučić's mouthpiece, the television channel Informer. From this, we conclude that Stefanović is not in their hands—that is, he is not in prison. We continue searching because, beyond the police and prosecution, we have far more powerful para-police forces loyal to the former president, comprising violent individuals, criminals, and murderers.

We hear from our colleagues at Bečejski mozaik and Webinfo in Novi Bečej. They were prevented from covering an SNS promotional event that was apparently organized by the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO Fund). Our colleagues had many questions they wanted to ask, but they were physically prevented from attending a meeting between SNS officials and a selected group of 150 pensioners, both women and men. We write formal protests to the institutions and alert the public. We document discrimination against journalists, obstruction of their work, and interference with their coverage of pre-election activities.

Monday, October 19

Željko Matorčević, from the Žig info news portal in Grocka, who was brutally beaten in 2018 shortly before his colleague Milan Jovanović's house was set on fire—a blaze from which Jovanović barely escaped alive—publishes an article about 47 registered voters at the address of a local funeral services company. You might say there is nothing new about that. But a few hours later, Željko sends us a recording of a telephone conversation. A woman who lives at that address called him and explicitly threatened to beat him, without explaining anything about the 47 voters registered at the funeral home. Together, we report the case to the prosecution and the police.

…

We receive information that Ljubomir Stefanović has left the country. He soon issues a video statement explaining that he has gone into hiding to avoid being detained, held in custody, placed under house arrest, or prohibited from using the internet—all measures that would prevent him from carrying out his work as a journalist and editor. We later learn that he is in Montenegro.

It bothers me that he uses the term “escape,” because I believe that the authorities in Serbia forced him to leave the country, expecting that this would put an end to his activities.

Following Aleksandar Radić, Stefanović is the seventh journalist from Serbia to go into exile, in addition to five others who had previously been relocated or had left the country on their own because their safety was at risk. Both Radić and Stefanović faced the direct threat of imprisonment and legal proceedings.

Journalists in exile are particularly vulnerable during their first days away, and I try to help them precisely at that time. We are gathering support not only to cover their living expenses but also to provide the equipment they need to continue working from their new locations.

It is extremely important to thwart the repressive apparatus's attempt to silence free speech and objective reporting by persecuting journalists.

Tuesday, October 20

A day to be proud of for the journalists at the Mašina newsroom and Mladen Savatović, recipients of the Dušan Bogavac Award for Ethics and Courage. I have always regarded this award as a kind of preliminary qualification for everything else in a journalistic career: ethics—respecting the journalistic code—and the courage not to buckle under various pressures, but instead to dedicate your life to protecting the public interest. Mašina and Mladen have demonstrated both qualities to an extraordinary degree. They thoroughly deserve the award!

But then shocking news arrives from Prijepolje. TV Forum, the first civil-society media outlet in the country, founded by women and operating with all the necessary permits, has been brutally overridden without any warning by the signal of Informer TV on Telekom's cable network. At that very moment, a promotional event for the Student List is taking place in Prijepolje. Yet on TV Forum's channel, displaying the TV Forum logo, viewers are watching Informer TV programming—in other words, a broadcast of the presentation of the Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia list in Čačak.This act of violence and takeover of the channel continues for almost 24 hours.

We send formal protests to institutions that have been captured or rendered dysfunctional. All we can do is raise our voices. After reading our statement, a representative of an embassy calls me to ask whether he has understood it correctly and whether such a thing is possible. I tell him that this is yet another method of destroying independent media.

For a year now, I have repeatedly encountered the same reality: representatives of the international community, from Brussels to national administrations and diplomatic missions, regularly record the alarming number of attacks and threats, SLAPP lawsuits, discrimination against media outlets, and the targeting of journalists by the until-recently president and other government officials. And yet, they still struggle to grasp and address all these developments as a whole, because doing so would mean acknowledging that they, too, are  complicit when they cooperate with and frequently support such a government. I believe one of the biggest problems is the absence of serious institutional support for professional journalists and media outlets in Serbia.

Instead of acknowledging the reality and taking concrete measures—for example, as the Swedish government did by halting financial assistance to the Serbian government that had already been agreed upon, redirecting some of that support to civil society, and deciding not to participate in EXPO 2027, probably one of Europe's largest corruption-driven projects—international partners settle for lukewarm warnings while maintaining their relationships with Serbia's authorities.

When I was little and experienced some injustice, I would imagine and wish that something would happen to me, that I would die, so I could watch whether the people I was angry with would feel sorry and who would cry. I have the impression that, when we speak with representatives of the international community—especially those who have the power to influence the behavior of a repressive government more effectively—they are waiting for precisely that moment: for us to be gone, so that they can finally say and do something that the authorities will remember.

…

I attend a solidarity protest in support of the Nova.rs newsroom, as well as N1, Nova S TV, Danas, Radar, and others. At the same time, we see protests being organized in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo, and Podgorica. It is never enough. There are never enough people, never enough solidarity. Vuk Cvijić shows me the front page of Radar, which is due to be published on Thursday. He tells me about the article. I am already bracing myself for the threats he will inevitably receive. His wife, Bojana, is the executive editor at Nova.rs.

I am particularly concerned because I know how steadfast both Vuk and Bojana are. I try not to react only after a threat or an attack has already occurred, but also to take at least some preventive measures. Yet I am no longer sure that we have any room left for effective prevention.

When you are a professional journalist and feel a strong need to protect the public interest, there is little room for maneuvering. You publish everything you discover and can substantiate, because the public has the right to know—and must know.

Wednesday, October 21

Nenad Kulačin, one half of the Dobar, loš, zao (Good, Bad, Evil) podcast duo, sends me a message saying that he has received a threat of sexual violence directed at him, his wife, and Marko Vidojković. The threat also says that the perpetrators will “come for them on October 26.”

Nenad and Marko are certainly among those who receive the greatest number of threats and disturbing messages, as do their families. Nevertheless, the content of these threats and the accumulation of attacks that the institutions fail to investigate always disturb me. We report the threat to the Special Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime, but we do not expect any progress because this prosecution service, too, has long been captured.

I am worried about Nenad and his family. Marko has been relocated and, after three years, has obtained residency in a foreign country. For family reasons, Nenad has been unable to move out of the reach of those threatening him. We are trying to help with preventive measures, but our options are limited. When we arrange video surveillance, we cannot be sure whether it will help prevent an attack or merely allow us to see who committed a violent act after the fact. Still, we do everything we can.

Thursday, October 22

Radar has been published. I read the article by Vuk Cvijić and Milan Radonjić about newly uncovered Sky ECC messages revealing how people from the upper echelons of organized crime in the region view the former president, his brother, his son, and other people close to them, as well as what they say about their communications with these individuals and their influence over their decisions. It is a continuation of the article published in the previous issue. Courageous journalism—but there was no other way it could have been, knowing Vuk and Milan.

I am preparing myself for the new threats that will follow, because I do not expect the people named in these messages to be arrested, even though we know that the former president has, during this period, lost his immunity. And sure enough, the threats follow: attacks against family members and the murder of children. Once again, I report them to the prosecution. Since the attack on Vuk by Ladjević, the director of Srpski telegraf, in the city center—an incident that has gone unpunished to this day—I have increasingly felt like a chronicler of attacks against Vuk rather than someone who has managed to change anything through reports to the prosecution. But both he and I know that it is our responsibility to do everything we can to expose the true nature of the repressive regime. And not only that, but also to help everyone else whose safety is at risk. We must make visible all the information that reveals the immense scale of corruption and the connections between those in power and organized crime. We must protect Vuk, Milan, and the many other journalists—women and men—using every means at our disposal. And more than that.

…

Two days ago, a KTV television crew and Nemanja Šarović were attacked while filming a report about SNS call centers in New Belgrade. They had followed buses from Novi Banovci transporting people who work in these call centers. As expected, one of the SNS activists attacked Šarović, snatched the phone he was using to record, and fled. Šarović chased after him to recover his phone, and the entire incident was captured on video. Meanwhile, tabloid media reported that Šarović had attacked a citizen.

I experienced exactly the same thing outside the Serbian Parliament, when my mobile phone—which I was using to record an incident—was snatched from me. Instead of handing the footage over to the investigative authorities, the Serbian Parliament sent it to tabloid outlets, which then published the lie that I had attacked the assailant!

The prosecutor serving as the contact point for the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists informs me that a case has been opened and that she is working to gather information. We rarely receive feedback from prosecutors, so for once it feels as though someone is actually doing their job. The harder part comes next: for a year and a half, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) has been obstructing investigations into attacks against journalists. According to the records of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, of the 99 reported cases of threats and attacks recorded by the end of August this year, the MUP failed to respond to requests to gather information in as many as 58 cases.

Friday, October 23

Throughout the week, we have been experiencing a wave of bot attacks targeting the websites of numerous media outlets and civil-society organizations. These are preparations for what we have been warning about since January: the authorities' intention, once they believe they are losing the elections and decide not to recognize the results, to block media accounts on social networks as well, plunging Serbia into darkness by depriving it of free and professional information. The SHARE Foundation, together with journalists' and media associations, has been working to inform service providers about the attacks. We expect them to help prevent restrictions on internet-related freedoms.

Thanks to the internet, we overcame a broadcasting ban at Radio B92 as early as 1996. Then, in 2000, when SPS storm troopers occupied our newsroom, we used the internet to broadcast authentic Radio B92 programming and its television productions.

I believe in journalists and media outlets in this year, 2026, too. I hope they will prove more effective and innovative on the internet than the regime, because our motives and goals are diametrically opposed: prosperity, democracy, and freedom versus a media desert, media darkness, and threats to journalists' lives and the survival of professional media.

…

Whatever happens on Sunday and in the period that follows, the situation facing journalists and media outlets will be extremely difficult. Even today, the media community is already at the limits of its strength and capacity.

There is no response to even the most obvious physical and other attacks, or to the economic collapse. Professional journalists and media outlets survive solely because of their fanatical commitment to the fundamental principles of their profession, the solidarity of a small number of people in similar circumstances, and the support of part of the wider community.

We have reached a point where any further deterioration in the conditions facing journalists and the media could be irreversible. That is why it is extremely important for everyone to do everything they can to establish at least the most basic conditions in which the outstanding professionals in this field of journalism can continue to work.

 

The project "Improving the system of prevention and response mechanisms in cases of threats to the safety and life of female and male journalists in Serbia" is implemented by ANEM with partners Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.

The OSCE mission in Serbia supported the ANEM project "24/7 SOS telephone line for help to journalists and other vulnerable media workers", within the project financed by the European Union "Strengthening freedom of expression and media freedom in Serbia".