Journalist Marija Šehić was dismissed yesterday from Euronews Serbia, owned by Telekom Srbija, in what constitutes an unjust and retaliatory decision against her for opposing the erosion of professional standards, pressure, and mistreatment of journalists within the newsroom—practices that intensified after Minja Miletić became regional director and Dragana Pejović took over as editor-in-chief.
Formally, Šehić was dismissed by her employer, Arena News Channels DOO Belgrade, for allegedly “careless or negligent performance of work duties” and “violating work discipline.” In reality, the dismissal came as a result of her months-long fight—alongside her newsroom colleagues—for decent journalism and the right to work with dignity.
This became particularly visible when over 80 journalists and media workers from Euronews Serbia publicly distanced themselves, in a joint statement, from the article titled “We Call on Authorities to Enable RTS to Work Freely,” published on April 18 in the name of the newsroom but without its knowledge. Among the signatories was Marija Šehić, who—along with others—openly opposed the leadership duo under whose direction such a statement could not have been published without prior approval.
The official decision on Marija Šehić’s dismissal, which we have reviewed, clearly shows that this draconian move—depriving her of employment—was motivated by other reasons. Three situations are cited as the basis for termination, one of which is an error in presenting the titles of two guests during a live broadcast—an error she corrected within the same program.
We remind the public that in recent months, journalists and media workers at Euronews Serbia have been subjected to serious pressure from both management and editorial leadership, including censorship, bans on questioning government officials, and punishment for acting professionally. They have been openly threatened with dismissal and instructed to show loyalty to the media’s owner, undermining both freedom of expression and editorial independence. Those who voiced disagreement with the outlet’s editorial policy have faced retaliation through shift changes, dismissal announcements, and efforts to justify “technological redundancies.”
We fear that Euronews Serbia’s leadership will continue its harsh crackdown on journalists and media workers who signed the April 18 statement and were thus marked as “undesirable.”
Following yesterday’s dismissal of journalist Marija Šehić, employees of Euronews Serbia received a notice from editor Dragana Pejović today informing them that as of “Saturday, June 14, weekend news will be produced in a single shift”—a clear signal of further layoffs and staff reductions.
We remind all stakeholders that the Law on Public Information and Media explicitly requires every media publisher to adopt a general act defining the measures and procedures for protecting editorial policy—something that clearly has not been done or implemented in this case. A review of the media registry at the Serbian Business Registers Agency shows that Euronews has either failed to adopt or failed to submit this mandatory document, in direct violation of the law. Therefore, we call on Euronews Serbia’s management and editorial leadership to immediately cease practices that undermine professional integrity and freedom of expression, and to ensure a work environment where journalists can operate freely and with dignity—without fear of retaliation, including threats of dismissal or disciplinary action for acting with professional responsibility. We also urge them to reconsider the dismissal decision issued yesterday to our colleague Marija Šehić.
Every attempt to silence the media and violate the rights of journalists must be swiftly and unequivocally condemned.
Belgrade, June 12, 2025
Association of Independent Electronic Media (AIEM)
Association of Media
Association of online media (AOM)
Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts and Media ‘Nezavisnost’
Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press”
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS)
Journalists’ Association of Serbia (JAS)
Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (IJAV)
Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation
