Serbia

Investigative journalist Ivan Ninic was beaten in front of his home as he was locking his car. Ninic is the author of approximately 300 articles and investigative stories – a large number of which were published on the anti-corruption website Pistaljka.

TV B92 has announced that it has decided to indefinitely postpone a program called “Reporter.” Their decision was guided by security concerns and the desire to protect their journalists.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) calls on the municipal authorities in Bajina Basta to refrain from violating the right to freedom of expression and the right to be informed, and reconsider their decision on the 2015 budget.

Since May 2014 alone, Index’s European Union-funded Mapping Media Freedom has received 48 reports of violations against Serbian media including attacks to property and intimidation and physical violence.

That press freedom was a popular topic on the night did not comes as a surprise. Serbia has seen a string of censorship incidents during Vucic’s time in power, as Index and many others have reported.

A group of some 30 hooligans attacked the B92 building and the police securing the building on 28 September 2014. The attack happened after B92 reported during the day from the Belgrade Pride and after it featured a series of programs about Pride on its radio, television and web site.

The website “Pеščаnik” was exposed to hacking attacks on 27 August 2014, after having been a target of similar attacks at the beginning of June, when it published a text by a group of authors who claimed that the doctoral thesis of the Minister of Interior is plagiarized.

A journalist from Novi Sad ‘Radio 021’ was surrounded by men in plain clothes who told him not to take photographs of a traffic accident that he was covering. The incident occurred less than a month after the adoption of new media laws, which were expected to improve media freedom in Serbia.

The government must respect media freedom by allowing journalists to tell the truth about the recent floods in the country that has claimed the lives of over 50 citizens.

Dragan Nikolic was detained and interrogated by the Serbian police services following a critical comment published on his Facebook profile about the government handling of the recent floods.

A Serbian media coalition denounces local governments who have been abusing public procurement procedures in order to give money to “appropriate” media outlets, completely disregarding the interest of the public and the needs of the local community for unbiased, timely and complete information.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media condemns excessive statements that are placed via foreign news agencies concerning the repeated public competition for a license to broadcast television programs with national coverage.

Two new reports demonstrate how the governments in two European countries – Serbia and Hungary – use their financial power to pressure media outlets, punish critical reporting and reward favourable coverage.

Two teams of reporters were attacked as they tried to cover a story about the suspension of voting in Gracac, due to a fight between political activists.

The Deputy Mayor of Nis, Ljubivoje Slavkovic, posted a series of insults on Facebook against the news portal Juzne Vesti and offered a reward for information about the website’s cost. This occurred after Juzne Vesti had criticised Slavkovic for making homophobic remarks.

Milorad Bojovic has received more than 30 SMS messages, sent from different phone numbers, threatening that he will be beaten. Bojovic assumes the threats are connected to stories published in the NS reporter.