The SafeJournalists Network strongly condemns the detention of Peščanik columnist Dejan Ilic for publicly expressing his opinion. This reaction of the prosecution represents a serious precedent and a dangerous message for freedom of expression in Serbia.
Peščanika columnist Dejan Ilić was detained today by order of the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, due to his alleged statement that he “caused panic and disorder” in the show “Pokreni se” broadcast on Nova television, and he was detained for 48 hours.
Ilić said in a statement to the media earlier today that the police were looking for him last night, that they called him by phone and asked him to come to the police station, but that he was not told why he was called.
The Third Primary Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade announced that it had made a decision to detain the columnist of Peščanik, because he stated in the show “Pokreni se” that was broadcast on “Nova” television on March 29: “You have to choose – either you will open the door for those people to take refuge, and the transitional government is the one who opens the door, or you will accept the fact that blood will flow in the streets, that we will lose I don’t know how many lives and we don’t know whose lives, in order to get rid of them.”
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) announced that criminal prosecution due to a spoken political assessment or prediction about the possible consequences of social and political processes is illegal in light of domestic and international norms that guarantee freedom of thought and speech.
IJAS reminds that in the week preceding the large protest in Belgrade, on March 15, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced daily that great violence was being prepared that day, and that afterwards he was not invited by the police or the prosecution to explain his knowledge and predictions.
The SafeJournalists Network condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Dejan Ilić and the intimidation of journalists and all actors who publicly express their opinions, as well as the selective actions of the prosecution and the police. We invite the Prosecutor’s Office to reconsider the decision, bearing in mind that Dejan Ilić did not make any claims in his speech, as reported, but only his opinion about the current socio-political crisis in Serbia.
The SafeJournalists Network will inform both national and international stakeholders about these troubling developments.
Any attack on journalists is an attack on democracy, public interest, and fundamental human rights.
Pristina – Skopje – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Belgrade – Podgorica, 10.04.2025
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
BH Journalists Association
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
