European Journalists' Federation Condemns Death Threats Against Serbian Reporter

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has voiced its support for Veran Matić, a prominent journalist and president of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) in Serbia. The EFJ strongly condemned the recent death threats directed at Matić and urged Serbian authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the matter. According to the EFJ, Matić's case, which includes the documented threats, has been registered on their Mapping Media Freedom platform. The organization has also filed a report with the Council of Europe's platform for the protection of journalism. This action underscores the seriousness with which international bodies are viewing the safety concerns of journalists in Serbia. ANEM reported a series of threats and disturbing messages sent to Matić, primarily through social media platforms like Facebook, X, and Instagram. These messages, which allegedly included fabricated statements attributed to Matić, contained explicit death threats, including mentions of hanging, sacrifice, and public execution. In response to these threats, and other previous attacks, Matić has requested a security assessment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Both ANEM and other journalistic organizations in Serbia, such as the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS), have condemned the latest attack. They are calling for an urgent investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime and the Ministry of Internal Affairs into numerous complaints filed this year alone, aiming to identify and prosecute those responsible. The EFJ's appeal joins these calls, emphasizing the need for a thorough investigation by the competent Serbian authorities.

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We call on the relevant authorities in Serbia to conduct a thorough investigation into this case.