On 30 September 2025, at least four Serbian journalists were targeted with anonymous printed leaflets, which were distributed to private mailboxes and public spaces in Belgrade and other cities. The scale of this coordinated smear campaign is suspected to be significant, given the increasing number of cases being reported throughout the country. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) and their Serbian affiliates (GS KUM Nezavisnost, NUNS, UNS, and SINOS) urge the authorities to conduct immediate and thorough investigations into these threats, to identify, apprehend, and sanction the perpetrators.
The printed leaflets describe each journalist as having ‘bloody hands’, accusing them of organising the so-called ‘colored revolution’. Photos of Marko Vidojkovic, Dinko Gruhonjic, Ivan Ivanovic, and Sanja Ignjatović Eker are featured on the leaflets.
These threats are the result of fabricated narratives which have been relentlessly spread for months by public officials, including from the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and supported by pro-government tabloid media outlets, to discredit independent reports of the anti-corruption protests.
“These malicious claims, reaching into the private houses of citizens and public places, fuelled hatred against journalists who are consistently targeted with death threats for simply reporting the truth. What are the Serbian authorities waiting for before they take decisive action to uphold essential safety measures and protect those who bravely seek to inform the public? We also reiterate our call on the EU community to condemn any attempts to silence reporters,” stated EFJ President Maja Sever.
On 1 October 2025, Marko Vidojkovic and Dinko Gruhonjic received online threats on social media. “You need to be killed and thrown to the dogs” was posted on Instagram and directed at Vidojkovic, co-host of the recently hacked YouTube podcast “Dobar Los Zao – Ucutati Necemo” (Good, Bad, Evil – We Won’t Be Silenced). His colleague Nenad Kulacin, as well as their families, are receiving constant death threats for their critical stance of the government. As a result of the authorities’ failure to sanction perpetrators and protect him, Vidojković had to flee his own country in 2023.
Since the manipulative video portraying Dinko Gruhonjić as an “enemy of the state” was released in March 2024, Gruhonjić has faced countless worrying threats. The discovery of the death threat written on his residence wall prompted the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)consortium to provide him with safety measures.
The EFJ and IFJ urged the Serbian authorities to take swift safety measures to protect the threatened journalists and end the culture of impunity.
We will continue to stand in solidarity with Serbian journalists and report attacks to the Council of Europe and the Mapping Media Freedom platforms. We also encourage journalists who are under threat to report any dangerous situations, so that we can provide them with timely support.
