site.btaReports of Threats and Attacks against Journalists in Serbia Must Be Investigated Impartially, Says Equality Commissioner

Reports of Threats and Attacks against Journalists in Serbia Must Be Investigated Impartially, Says Equality Commissioner

Regarding the recent attacks and pressure faced by journalists in Serbia, regardless of gender, Serbia’s Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Milan Antonijevic said that the work journalists do, as well as differences in opinion, editorial policies and reporting methods, can never justify discrimination, harassment, threats or any form of violence, Serbian public broadcaster RTS reported.

According to data from the nongovernmental organization Standing Working Group on the Safety of Journalists, more than 47 calls related to threats have been received on the Safe Line for Journalists since the beginning of January 2026.

Data from the Journalists’ Association of Serbia show that 2025 saw a drastic increase in all forms of threats against journalists.

Media associations also point to the frequent use of hate speech and discriminatory terminology in the media, as well as to the insufficiently effective response by the competent institutions.

"The Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits harassing and degrading behaviour aimed at violating dignity, that is, creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, and the law also prohibits the dissemination of discrimination through public media, which is defined as a severe form of discrimination," Antonijevic told RTS.

In addition to this law, Antonijevic recalled that the Law on Public Information and the Media protects individuals from defamation, insult, misrepresentation and other forms of violation of honour and reputation.

He stressed that journalists must have conditions to perform their work safely and without obstruction, while media outlets must bear responsibility for professional and responsible reporting, while respecting professional standards and the principle of equality.

The first month of 2026 has seen a new type of pressure on critical and professional media through so-called bot attacks on media Instagram accounts, the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) announced.

"It bodes nothing good if, in the very first month of the year, we are seeing such alarming statistics, especially in a year in which numerous local elections, and possibly early parliamentary elections, are expected in Serbia. We demand that the prosecution and the police urgently resolve all cases of attacks against journalists, identify and sanction the perpetrators, in order to send a clear message to the public that such cases are unacceptable in a democratic society. This is the only way to put a stop to this dark statistic," said Veran Matic, Chair of the ANEM Board of Directors.

According to ANEM, accounts of organizations and individuals received thousands of new followers over short periods of time and in several waves, prompting Meta to flag the activity as suspicious and to suspend or permanently shut down the profiles.

ANEM recalled that, following several reports to Meta, the suspended accounts were restored, but the bot attacks continued. Local media outlets received two emails from an unknown address: the first threatened that their Instagram accounts would be shut down if they "write negatively about the president", while the second claimed responsibility for the attacks and issued a new threat that something could happen to them if they continued reporting in that manner.

ANEM added that 2025 saw a record number of threats, pressure and attacks against media workers in Serbia’s recent history – at least 383 cases over 12 months, compared with 168 in 2024.

According to ANEM statistics, 134 cases related to attacks against journalists and media workers were opened by prosecutors’ offices in Serbia in 2025, with only three resulting in convictions.