20 Jan Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: 30 December – 19 January, 2023
Belgrade, 19 January, 2023 –
Violations of basic freedoms in Serbia
30 December – 19 January, 2023
The beginning of 2023 was extremely difficult for journalists in Serbia. The highest political officials continued to harass, target and send threats to journalists and media outlets that report critically on the government’s actions.
The President of Serbia and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, Aleksandar Vučić, called N1 and the employees of this television “locators”, accusing them of revealing the positions of the Serbian security services during the tensions in the north of Kosovo by reporting on the deployment of military equipment near Kosovo. In addition, Prime Minister Brnabić sent a series of insults to the media N1, Danas and Nova S for writing about the stay of President Vučić’s son, Danilo Vučić, at the unconstitutional Day of the Republic of Srpska in East Sarajevo.
Journalist Nenad Paunović was forced to give a statement at the police station, after officers forbade him to film the site of the environmental accident in Pirot. Journalist Srđan Nonić was attacked by an employee of the City Administration of the city of Nis, after he tried to take a photo of this employee while he was in a betting shop during working hours. Journalist Nenad Kulačin again received threats via social networks.
From the area of freedom of association, masked neo-Nazis, with visible Nazi symbols on them, attacked the “Crni ovan” bar in Novi Sad, a place known for alternative fairs and other events, and this attack is the fourth in a row in just one year.
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