Veran Matic, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), provided a statement to the First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday regarding a reported attack. He also reported that the tabloids Alo and Informer have launched a fresh wave of insults and smear campaigns against him.
ANEM said that these two media outlets published CCTV footage from the Serbian Parliament building alongside reports containing at least three falsehoods: that Matic filmed people without cause, that he harassed them, and that he struck a young man.
In his statement to the prosecution, Matic reiterated that he has felt threatened since August of last year, when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said during an appearance on national television that “all those who were imprisoned because of Veran Matic should have their convictions wiped from their records, and that he (Vucic) would buy them a bottle of liquor, take it to their homes, and apologize to them.”
“Following that statement, Matic requested a security risk assessment. A month later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed him that there were elements threatening his safety and that a decision had been made to increase patrols near his place of residence. He was also informed that the assessment was made, among other things, based on knowledge that an individual who had been in prison in Nis had planned to kill Veran Matic,” ANEM reported.
On Friday, the police also informed Matic that the increased patrol measure around his residence is still being implemented.
“Attacks on Veran Matic are becoming increasingly frequent and dangerous, as are attacks on numerous other journalists in Serbia. ANEM calls on the European Commission and other international institutions to insist on stopping the escalation of attacks and threats directed against journalists and media in Serbia. A Serbia without independent and professional media is a country without a future,” ANEM said in a press release.
Source: N1
