The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) reported that on Wednesday at approximately 4 pm, Vuk Cvijic, a journalist for the weekly newsmagazine Radar, received a call from an unknown number from abroad. In a brief conversation, he was given a direct threatening warning regarding an article that will be published in the weekly on Thursday.
According to the ANEM press release, Cvijic was told during the call to be “careful what he publishes tomorrow” and that he would “get to meet” the caller “if he publishes the article.”
When Cvijic replied that the issue had already gone to press and would be released the next day, the caller responded: “Then you will get to meet me.”
This terrifying threat was immediately reported to the competent public prosecutor’s office and flagged as urgent.
Over the past year, Cvijic has been physically assaulted in public on several occasions, yet none of these cases have reached a judicial conclusion. The impunity surrounding attacks on Cvijic serves as an invitation to freely attack journalists engaged in investigative reporting, particularly those covering corruption within the highest levels of government and key institutions, ANEM noted.
The Association calls on the relevant institutions to protect Cvijic and the Radar editorial team, to conduct a swift and effective investigation to prevent these aggressors from endangering his life, and to enable him to continue his work without such interference.
Statement from Radar
The editorial team of Radar condemns in the strongest of terms the direct telephone threat received by journalist Vuk Cvijic in response to his articles.
“We call on the institutions of the system to urgently identify the thug who dared to directly threaten and intimidate our journalist. We remind the prosecutor’s office that not a single attack on Vuk Cvijic has been solved to date, not even the one captured by surveillance cameras. The cowardly pepper-spraying of the journalist on assignment, as well as the assault by a police officer in front of the Law School in front of witnesses, remain stuck in the preliminary investigation phase. Are we to understand that this state simply does not wish to protect journalists, thereby effectively becoming an accomplice in endangering them?” Radar said.
Source: N1
