The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) strongly condemns the latest threats directed at journalists from N1, Danas, Nova, and Insajder, issued on Saturday from the X account Spavach74.
The user of this account wrote: “And so, one way or another, N1 has started to burn. Let Danas and Nova get ready. Let Charlie Hebdo not be repeated in the middle of Belgrade. Insajder, Brankica, we have special plans for you. You are as poisonous as a snake..”
These threats have been reported to the Office of the Prosecutor for High-Tech Crime, and NUNS expects them to be clarified without delay. Particularly alarming is the increasingly frequent reference by those issuing threats to the fate of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, with a clear intention and desire to see such a scenario carried out against independent media in Serbia. The threatening message directed at journalist Brankica Stanković must also be understood as a serious call to violence. The police and prosecution cannot continue to turn a blind eye to such open calls for the murder of journalists.
Additionally, on the account under the name Milko Milić (@MilicMilko99), in a post titled “Serbian services have proven that every traitor will be discovered and arrested”, dangerous falsehoods and fabrications were published. The post falsely claims that “Serbian services, after a year of surveillance, collected evidence of lawyer Ivan Ninić’s cooperation with Albanian occupiers in Kosovo and Metohija,” while also accusing him of being a CIA agent. In the same post, N1 and Nova S are presented as media outlets allegedly aiming to destabilize Serbia. Such content is part of an ongoing campaign of targeting independent media and individuals who report professionally and responsibly on socially important issues.
In recent days, the campaign of targeting N1 and Nova S on social media has continued, with these outlets being particularly under attack in recent months. Despite the serious consequences such campaigns may have, the failure of competent institutions to resolve the many threats directed at these media only fuels a sense of impunity and allows this dangerous practice to continue unchecked.
NUNS recalls that since the beginning of this year, at least 177 threats and attacks against journalists and media have been recorded, yet it is not known that any case has resulted in the punishment of perpetrators. It is precisely this impunity that creates an atmosphere in which the number of direct threats is growing, making it only a matter of time before one of them is carried out.
For this reason, we once again call on the competent institutions to recognize the seriousness of the situation and finally begin prosecuting and punishing those who threaten independent journalists. Only a decisive state response can prevent these threats from turning into actual violence.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS)
Belgrade, August 25, 2025
