The Coalition for Media Freedom strongly condemns the decision of the “Informer” newspaper to publish part of the opening statement from the book “Wolf Trails” by Zvezdan Jovanovic, sentenced to 40 years for the murder of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, targeting Veran Matic, B92 production and Insajder.
In the text entitled “Criminals and DOS (Democratic Opposition of Serbia) worked together! Zvezdan Jovanovic published a book!” published on November 22 in the newspaper “Informer”, among other things, the following quote from the editorial of Jovanovic’s book is cited:
– By marketing various disgusting series for years, such as “Insider”, “Dosije”, “Jedinica” and the and similarly from the Soros-Matic production, they are trying to wash away the connection between DOS’s “useful idiots” and the leaders of the “Surcin-Zemun” criminal clan. However, I exposed all their lies and supported them with evidence that had been kept in the drawers and archives of state institutions for years.
The fact that the “Informer” newspaper does not distance itself from Jovanovic’s words is also worrying. On the contrary, in the very next sentence of the text, it is stated that Jovanovic “gathered “material” for years about everything that had been hidden from the public” and that “this is how he discovers who were the “democratically” selected witnesses, liars and criminals who “plot” with people from the government and the police”.
The Coalition for Media Freedom considers this procedure not only an attempt to discredit the work of journalists and editors of Insider and B92 productions, who in their investigative and documentary series at one time dealt with the background of the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and the Special Operations Unit, but an indirect threat.
Because of their work on these series, Veran Matic and the editor of Insajder Brankica Stankovic were under police protection for years.
The coalition calls on the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, which is responsible for the implementation of the Public Information and Media Law, as well as all other relevant institutions and organizations to react, because threats and pressure on journalists are unacceptable and dangerous, especially when they occur in public space.
The Coalition for Media Freedom consists of the Association of Media, the Association of Online Media (AOM), the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Business Association of the Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press” and the Slavko Curuvija Foundation.