The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns the threats and the hate speech inciting intolerance and violence directed at the Jugpress newsroom, sent as a reaction to their report from a protest held on Wednesday in Leskovac. Such messages constitute a direct attempt to intimidate journalists and are aimed at influencing editorial independence and undermining the public’s right to be informed.
Yesterday, the Jugpress newsroom received a message via the Messenger application from an account using the name “Zoran Stojanović – Šote”, which, along with insults, contained threats of violence. The message reads: “I’ll fk your Ustaše mouths. Who are you supporting? Ustaše are tearing down the church, insulting priests, destroying the 200th anniversary of Serbia. I’d shove you into a mine and bury you so the infection doesn’t spread. I’ll fk everything you have, both the living and the dead — if I were in power.”
IJAS has reported this threat to the Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime.
We remind that threats against journalists and media outlets, as well as calls for violence, constitute a serious criminal offence and must be treated as an attack on media freedom and the public interest. We stress that these threats were made because of reporting on an event of public interest, creating an atmosphere of fear and pressure on media workers, especially in local communities.
We demand that the competent prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs urgently identify the person behind the account and prosecute the case in accordance with the law. At the same time, we expect the competent authorities to take all measures to prevent further threats and to protect those at risk. Any tolerance or inadequate response to such cases sends a message of impunity and further endangers media freedom, one of the fundamental principles of a democratic society.
It is the state’s obligation to ensure safe working conditions for all journalists.
IJAS will continue to monitor the actions of the competent authorities in this, as well as in other cases of attacks and threats against journalists and media workers.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS)
Belgrade, 21 February 2026.
