The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) calls on the competent authorities to urgently respond to the repeated death threats directed at Veran Matić, President of the Managing Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), to carry out a security assessment, and to provide adequate protection for him and his family.
Veran Matić has received new threats via the social media platform X. The account @glisha_m posted the message: “You are part of the hydra. We will eliminate the hydra!”
This threat followed an earlier post from the same account, which featured a photograph of Veran Matić accompanied by the message: “Let’s cut off the hydra’s head!” The post appeared beneath a clip from the television programme Bez cenzure (“Without Censorship”), in which Matić appeared as a guest, published on X.
At the same time, a Facebook user under the name Glišić Milenko posted the message: “You are part of the hydra, just like Veran Matić. WE WILL TAKE YOU DOWN! You will end up like the Afghan NGOs,” also accompanied by a photograph of Veran Matić.
According to information obtained by ANEM, the same individual is behind these accounts. This person has previously threatened journalists and media outlets without facing any legal consequences. It is precisely the lack of an effective institutional response that leads to impunity and encourages the repetition of such acts.
IJAS stresses that these threats come after months of targeting, discrediting, and hate speech directed at Veran Matić in certain media outlets and on social media. The continuous portrayal of individuals as “enemies,” accompanied by calls for violence, significantly increases the risk to their safety.
Given the repeated threats, insults, online attacks, as well as the physical attacks Veran Matić has previously been subjected to, he has requested that the Ministry of the Interior conduct an assessment of his personal security.
IJAS calls on the Ministry of the Interior to, in accordance with the law, immediately assess the security risks facing Veran Matić and his family members and to take all necessary measures to ensure their adequate protection.
At the same time, we call on the police and the competent public prosecutor’s office to urgently identify the person behind the @glisha_m account and the Glišić Milenko Facebook profile, investigate all the circumstances surrounding these cases, and initiate the appropriate legal proceedings against the perpetrator.
An effective institutional response is essential for safeguarding media freedom and preventing the creation of an environment in which violence and intimidation against journalists become an acceptable means of dealing with critical voices.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS)
Belgrade, 31 July 2026
