Former N1 News Director Igor Bozic received the Solidarity Award for Journalists from Southeast Europe presented by the Southeast Europe Association (SOG) in Berlin. The award was presented to him by Greens Bundestag MP Boris Mijatovic.
“It is a great honor to be here with you this evening as a member of the German Bundestag and to join you in recognizing the work of a journalist whose career stands as a symbol of courage, professionalism, and the defense of independent journalism,” Mijatovic told the ceremony.
He said that we are living in a time of increasingly pronounced authoritarian tendencies, information manipulation, and rapid changes in the digital environment which means that journalists and media professionals face enormous pressure. He added that there is no shortage of courageous individuals and journalists who investigate corruption, expose abuses of power, and defend the public’s right to know. While many of them will never receive an award, they nevertheless deserve our recognition and respect.
Bozic told the ceremony that last year in Serbia was not only a year of protests but also a year in which journalists became targets.
“A total of 344 incidents against journalists were recorded, including 44 physical attacks- almost four times more than the previous year. Yet throughout the entire year, only three convictions were handed down for attacks on journalists.
“This is the environment in which journalists in Serbia do their work. And the threats do not come only from anonymous individuals. There are also relentless smear campaigns by pro-government tabloids, direct attacks by senior public officials, and behind-the-scenes interference in media ownership and editorial independence. That is why this award is not a recognition of one individual. It belongs to all my colleagues who choose, every single day, to remain true to their profession – who continue to do their work with courage, even when the personal cost is high.
“Unfortunately, despite the fact that the streets of Serbian cities may appear calmer this year, the atmosphere has not changed. On the contrary.
“Threats and pressure have continued. Journalists investigating issues of public interest still work in an atmosphere of intimidation. Some have even been summoned for questioning over their reporting on the alleged use of a sonic weapon during the protests in March last year.
“At the same time, those who threaten journalists or attack their property, in the overwhelming majority of cases, remain unidentified or unpunished.
Just in the past month, the son of professor and journalist Dinko Gruhonjić had his car deliberately vandalized. N1 journalist Danica Vučenić received a letter containing horrific death threats. Journalists working for smaller local media outlets have faced death threats and physical attacks. BIRN journalists and university professors have been receiving messages saying, “The Black Hand has marked you”.
“For people in Serbia, this carries a powerful symbolic meaning. The Black Hand was one of the most notorious secret organizations in our history, associated with oaths of loyalty, death, and political violence. The purpose of these messages is obvious: to provoke an even greater sense of fear.
“As you might expect, those responsible have not been found.The sense of impunity has not disappeared. These cases send a clear message to every journalist: that doing professional work- especially independent and critical journalism- may put not only their own safety at risk, but also the safety of those closest to them.
“Nowhere in the world is easy to be a journalist. Those of us who worked during the 1990s remember what it was like in the Balkans. Yet many journalists in Serbia feel that today is even harder – that the pressure is greater, and often more subtle.
“The goal of those who threaten, intimidate, and attack journalists is clear: to silence independent voices, prevent the exposure of corruption and crime, and stop the truth from being heard.
“Today, solidarity among journalists is more than a professional value. It is a safeguard for democracy itself. When a journalist is left alone in the face of threats, it is not only one person or one newsroom that is under attack. It is the right of public to know.
“That is why this award is not only recognition for what we have done. It is also a reminder that the struggle for free journalism is far from over.
Thank you for recognizing that,” Bozic said.
Source: N1
