Investigative journalist Vuk Cvijic of the Serbian weekly Radar said he has received threats following the publication of an article examining amendments to Serbia’s draft Law on Public Prosecutors submitted by members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Cvijic said the threats were reported to Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime, but added that past cases give him little confidence the matter will be resolved. He noted that none of the previous threats against him, including a physical attack, have led to court proceedings.
The latest threats followed Radar’s reporting on proposed amendments that critics say could limit the work of Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.
“It was reported to the Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime immediately after it happened. Unfortunately, the previous experiences of my colleagues are not encouraging when it comes to anything being resolved,” Cvijic told N1.
“What strikes me as strange is that someone was bothered by this kind of text, because it deals with preventing the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime from doing exactly what its name implies – fighting the mafia.”
Cvijic said the wording of the threats suggests political rather than criminal origins.
“You can tell from the way it’s written that this is not how the mafia speaks. This is the language of people who are in power,” he said.
Cvijic said he has previously received threats, including a phone call last year warning him to “watch what he published tomorrow,” and has been physically attacked in the past.
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) called on Serbia’s Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime to respond urgently and sanction those responsible for threats against Cvijic and the Radar newsroom.
Source: N1
