The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS/IJAS) and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemn the latest threats directed at the editorial staff of TV N1 and Veran Matić, the journalist and president of ANEM, and call on the relevant authorities to respond urgently and finally begin to act effectively in cases of threats against journalists.
In a comment on the news of the attack on Veran Matić in front of the National Assembly of Serbia, a person signed as “Serb” directed a series of brutal insults and threats toward Matić and the editorial team of TV N1, including calls for violence and direct death threats. NUNS will not transmit the content of this message, as doing so would further spread the insults, hate speech, and threats contained within it.
Veran Matić was physically attacked two days ago in front of the National Assembly of Serbia. The new threatening message is just one of many similar messages that Matić, TV N1, and numerous other journalists and media outlets continuously receive. This pattern involves anonymous individuals, encouraged by the absence of a systemic response from institutions, using the digital space to target, intimidate, and paint journalists as targets.
NUNS and ANEM specifically warn of the campaign being waged against Veran Matić in tabloids close to the authorities. Instead of clearly condemning the physical attack on the journalist, these media outlets have relativized it and portrayed it as a result of Matić’s alleged provocation of citizens in front of the Assembly. Such reporting not only diverts attention from the violence and the responsibility of the attacker but also further discredits the victim and creates an atmosphere in which new threats and attacks are more likely.
We also remind that TV N1 is constantly under attack from tabloids and representatives of the ruling party. N1 journalist Danica Vučenić received a letter a few days ago containing horrifying threats directed at her and her family, sent from Maribor to the address of TV N1. N1 has pointed out that the relevant authorities in Serbia have not yet requested information from either the Slovenian police or the Slovenian Postal Service regarding this matter.
NUNS and ANEM believe that these are not isolated cases, but rather the result of a long-standing atmosphere of impunity, institutional passivity, and continuous targeting of journalists. Ignoring or relativizing such messages contributes to the creation of a dangerous narrative in which violence against journalists is normalized and remains unpunished.
Therefore, NUNS and ANEM demand that the Ministry of Internal Affairs urgently identify and locate the authors of the threats, as well as the perpetrators of the physical attack on Veran Matić, and that the competent prosecutor’s office promptly initiate an investigation and apply all legal mechanisms.
