On the occasion of May 3, World Press Freedom Day, the Coalition for Media Freedom warns that Serbia marks this day in a state of serious crisis regarding media freedom, the safety of journalists, and labor rights in the media sector. Therefore, we call on all journalists and media outlets, on World Press Freedom Day, AT FIVE TO TWELVE, to mute their broadcasts, darken their screens, and silently join the international symbolic action “FIVE MINUTES OF THUNDEROUS SILENCE,” in order to once again alert the authorities and the broader public to the consequences of the continuous erosion of media freedoms – already visible across all spheres, from the political system to the rights and freedoms of all citizens.
The latest data show that Serbia is experiencing the most dramatic deterioration in journalist safety in the region. According to the Western Balkans Journalists’ Safety Index, Serbia ranks last on the overall list for 2025, behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, and North Macedonia. The drop from 2.70 to 2.24 indicates a serious decline compared to the previous year.
At the regional conference of the SafeJournalists Network, Serbia in 2025 was presented as the most problematic case in the region: formal protection mechanisms exist, but are collapsing in practice, while the number of threats, physical attacks, police violence, and institutional inaction has risen dramatically.
The worst-rated area for Serbia is the actual safety of journalists. During 2025, the SafeJournalists Network recorded 317 incidents involving journalists and media workers, 116 of which were physical attacks.
Particularly concerning is the conduct of the police toward journalists. From March to the end of December 2025, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) recorded 77 cases of police attacks, unjustified detentions and identity checks of journalists, as well as instances where police failed to act when present at the scene. Of these, 26 cases involved women journalists. In more than 30 physical attacks, police officers were directly involved.
Serbia has one of the most developed formal mechanisms for the rapid reporting of attacks on journalists, but during protests, journalists reported that police refused to register complaints and provide assistance. This demonstrates that such mechanisms exist on paper, but their implementation depends on the political and institutional context, rather than on the law and the state’s obligation to protect journalists.
The Coalition for Media Freedom warns that hostile rhetoric, the targeting of journalists, pressure on prosecutors and the police, as well as the absence of clear and public condemnation of attacks, have directly contributed to an atmosphere in which threats and violence against journalists have become almost routine. The problem of impunity, lack of transparency, and ineffective action by the competent institutions remains one of the key reasons why these attacks continue to occur.
Verbal attacks by high-ranking state officials and ruling party MPs against journalists and media outlets create a lynch-like atmosphere and incite violence through narratives that criminalize them. According to data collected and published by the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, in the period from August 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, at least 1,191 verbal attacks by senior public officials were directed at critical journalists and media in Serbia.
Additional concern is raised by reports of surveillance and the use of spyware tools against journalists, which poses a serious threat not only to their safety, but also to the protection of sources, investigative journalism, and the public’s right to be informed.
That the state of media freedom in Serbia is deteriorating is also confirmed by the latest Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. For 2026, Serbia is ranked 104th out of 180 countries, a drop from 96th place the previous year, placing it among countries where the situation is classified as “difficult.” According to RSF, Serbia is the lowest-ranked in the region and among the worst in Europe.
In addition to threats and attacks, journalists and media workers face extremely unfavorable working conditions. The situation of local journalists is particularly difficult. Low wages, lack of overtime pay, disregard for working hours, insecure contracts, and constant uncertainty regarding the survival of media outlets are leading to the exhaustion of the profession and an increasing number of people leaving journalism.
Young journalists are especially exposed to precarious engagements, pressure, and economic coercion, which seriously affects their mental health. In local communities, many are forced to leave the profession or take on additional jobs just to make ends meet.
Trade unions are almost non-existent in private media, while some employers actively discourage union organizing. Only a small number of media outlets have collective agreements that protect labor rights, and systemic protection for journalists and media workers is almost non-existent.
The Coalition for Media Freedom emphasizes that media freedom cannot exist where journalists are physically endangered, economically exhausted, institutionally unprotected, and constantly exposed to pressure. Attacks on journalists are not only attacks on individuals and newsrooms, but attacks on the public’s right to know.
Therefore, the Coalition for Media Freedom calls on the competent institutions to urgently and effectively investigate all attacks, threats, and pressures against journalists and media workers; to ensure accountability for police officers who have attacked, detained, identified, or failed to protect journalists on assignment; to end the practice of targeting critical media and journalists; to ensure transparent action by prosecutors and courts in cases of attacks; and to urgently adopt and implement measures to improve the economic position of journalists, protect labor rights, and strengthen local media.
Without safe journalists, free newsrooms, and dignified working conditions, there can be no free media. And without free media, there can be no democratic society.
Coalition for Media Freedom: the Media Association, the Online Media Association (AOM), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (IJAV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Lokal Pres,” the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, and the “Nezavisnost” Branch Trade Union of Culture, Art and Media.
