The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS/IJAS) strongly condemns the article in Informer that published a screenshot of a private email from an international institution addressed to Jelena Kleut, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, accompanied by a disgraceful, incendiary narrative about “foreign protégés” and “destroyers of Serbia.” This conduct is a flagrant breach of privacy, professional ethics, and the basic standards of responsible journalism, and it directly fuels an atmosphere of intimidation and lynching.
Such publication endangers the safety and personal integrity of the person whose email was unlawfully exposed to the public, undermines academic freedom and legitimate cooperation between domestic and international institutions, and promotes stigmatization and xenophobic narratives—replacing information with crude labeling.
We particularly warn about the ongoing targeting of Dinko Gruhonjić, professor and journalist, who for years has faced pressure, hate speech, and threats. Articles of this kind further stoke the witch-hunt and create an environment in which threats and violence are normalized. We demand that the competent institutions urgently adopt protection measures, identify and prosecute the perpetrators, and ensure conditions in which university staff and journalists can work safely.
We remind everyone that the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics explicitly prohibits publishing content that unjustifiably intrudes on privacy and leads to the targeting of individuals.
This is not the first time Informer has obtained private documents belonging to individuals and publicly disclosed information that legitimate media should neither access nor abuse. We also recall cases involving the installation of spyware on the phones of activists and journalists: despite complaints filed with all competent institutions, these incidents have never been clarified. All this is yet another proof of the system’s dysfunction, in which certain individuals feel more powerful than institutions and the law, while those who follow the rules are left without protection.
IJAS demands the immediate removal of the disputed content, the establishment of editorial and individual responsibility within the newsroom that published it, and a public explanation of how such a “piece” was produced.
We expect the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection to investigate any unlawful acquisition and processing of personal data, and the competent public prosecutor’s office to assess the existence of elements of criminal liability and act without delay.
IJAS stands ready to provide legal and professional support to those affected. Media freedom is not a blank check for public shaming and the publication of someone else’s private communications; it entails responsibility, respect for facts, and the protection of the dignity of the people being reported on.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Belgrade, 9 October 2025
