The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) condemns the accusations of the President of the Dimitrovgrad municipality, Vladica Dimitrov, against FAR journalist Sergej Ivanov, that he tried to bribe councilors in the local assembly.
On February 5th, in the show “Aktuelno” on Caribrod TV while commenting on the current political situation in the country and the student protests, Dimitrov accused Sergej Ivanov, a journalist of the FAR portal from Dimitrovgrad, of calling councilors of the ruling majority and offering them money to “recompose the government” in that municipality.
“Dragica Angelov, Sergej Ivanov invite our councilors, offer them all the money. They will testify to that…. I stand behind it and they will, of course, be charged because that’s how it is,” said Dimitrov.
FAR portal journalist Slaviša Milanov tells IJAS that it is a matter of continued targeting of journalists working in that media, but since people are now protesting, and FAR is reporting about it to the public, it is possible that this is the reason for new attacks and an attempt to discredit.
“I don’t know what his goal was, but he often mentions one of our journalists. So this time Sergej is the target. As I understood, they will accuse him of buying councilors, which has nothing to do with Sergej. We are not the opposition, but we support the students and their demands, we report on it, and he saw us there, and I suppose that is the reason for the targeting,” says Milanov.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia condemns the malicious statement and accusations of Vladica Dimitrov against journalist Sergej Ivanov. Public accusations, without any evidence, of attempted bribery can seriously threaten the safety of journalists, especially in smaller communities.
We call on the president of the municipality of Dimitrovgrad to stop targeting journalists, to publicly apologize to them and let them do their job, which is of public importance, because citizens should receive objective and complete information, especially in the context of current events in Serbia.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS),
February 7th, 2025
