Veran Matić is in danger. The first actor responsible for his safety is the state, because he is a citizen of Serbia, says Pavol Salaj, director of the Reporters Without Borders bureau.
“I call on the President of Serbia to clearly distance himself from the campaign against Veran Matić. Otherwise, if anything happens to Veran Matić, we will consider it President of Serbia responsible”, said Pavol Salaj, director of the office of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Prague.
He emphasized that the organization was outraged by the video that was broadcast on several television channels and the slanderous posts that followed it, he writes. Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).
Salaj apostrophizes that it is the epilogue of the trial for murder Slavka Ćuruvije “shame on the Serbian state and the Serbian president who promised that the case would be resolved”.
Serbia last year, in Reporters Without Borders’ World Media Freedom Index, it had the lowest rating ever, at 96th place out of 180 countries. Although Salaj does not want to prejudge where he will be on the list for 2026, which will be updated at the end of April, he clearly answers – We have not seen any significant improvement in Serbia.
“Serbia is now on the world map of freedom press as a country where journalists are threatened every day. We counted physical attacks in the context of anti-government protests after the accident in Novi Sad. For the first time, after many years, we talked about Serbia in our annual review of violence against journalists. So, Serbia really differs in the level of violence that journalists face, perhaps with the exception of the war years of the 1990s. “Unfortunately, the government, instead of protecting journalists, actively participates in the suppression of press freedom and works very hard to eradicate media freedom in Serbia,” says Salaj.
No improvement in Serbia
He states that Reporters Without Borders will publish a new World Media Freedom Index on April 30, that they will reveal the results then, and that he cannot yet say what Serbia’s ranking will be.
“It is true that we have not seen any significant improvement. Last year, Serbia was ranked 96th out of 180 countries, which is not the lowest, but it had the lowest score of 53,55 points out of 100. This is a historical minimum for Serbia. It did not fall in the ranking just because the deterioration in other countries was more significant, but it is already very low compared to other European countries. In fact, it is second to last in Evropi. I come to Serbia regularly. Due to the seriousness of the situation, to come to Serbia again on a media freedom mission in March, in the week of March 23, together with colleagues from other international organizations for media freedom, with the support of the Council of Europe. We want to meet with journalists, the media, get first-hand information about the situation, about what we can do, and also to meet with the authorities and talk with them about these issues,” says Salaj.
He states that he is familiar with the serious Botov attacks on the Serbian media.
“Our strategy is to work on that.” European Union better regulate social networks so that journalists and independent information are protected and that such situations do not occur. We may have a similar situation to this one in Serbia, for example, in Albania. And also when it comes to artificial intelligence and fake content. I know about the case of Brankica Stanković, who was the victim of a deep fake scam. We recently published an analysis of these deepfake attacks targeting women in particular. We made recommendations that were addressed specifically to the European authorities,” says Salaj.
The case of Ćuruvija must be resolved
He points out that the case of Slavko Ćuruvija defines the freedom of the press in Serbia and that one day it will have to be successfully resolved.
“We owe that to the family of Slavko Ćuruvija, and I admire his daughter Jelena for her search for justice by all legal means. It’s a shame. It’s a shame for the Serbian state. It’s a shame for the Serbian president who promised that the case would be solved. The lack of justice creates a new injustice whose victims are the family and critics of the justice system. And of course, first of all, it’s a shame for the Serbian justice system. Serbia has become a kind of jungle where there are no rules to protect journalists. We are outraged, with a video that targets Veran Matić. I want to express solidarity with him in the case of Slavko Ćuruvija. In fact, I call on the president of Serbia to distance himself from this campaign, because of his work said in the case of Tamara Skrozza in of the past, and I say that in the case of Veran Matić,” says Salaj.
In his opinion, Veran Matić is in danger.
“I don’t want to create panic. I think the first actor responsible for his safety is the state, because he is a citizen of Serbia. If the president of Serbia does not distance himself from this campaign, it looks like he actually lost control of the situation. We need solidarity with Veran. I am very happy that he has support in Serbia, and partly at the international level. But you know, the first one who can protect Veran Matić is the state. That is Serbia’s obligation. Veran Matić must be able to continue his work to protect journalists. That’s why we will try to support him”, concludes Salaj.
Source: Vreme
