Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns broadcast of a video on TV Pink which calls for the arrest of journalists and editors of the daily newspaper “Danas”, portal Nova.rs, and televisions Nova S and N1 for criticizing the government and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic.
The uncredited video states that the media owned by the United Group are “rejoicing at the fate” of the owner of Informer, Dragan J. Vucicevic, who was fined for insult, but refused to pay. The video incorrectly states that he was sentenced to prison for “telling the truth”.
IJAS points out the seriousness of the incident and the targeting of journalists, because this video and similar ones that present someone in a very negative context can lead to other, much more serious consequences. IJAS believes that it is particularly inappropriate and malicious to mention and label Marko Vidojkovic and Nenad Kulacin, who had a large number of unresolved threats against them in recent years, due to which Vidojkovic had to be relocated. It was precisely the threats, such campaigns and the negative environment in which Vidojkovic lives and works, partly created by targeting coming from the representatives of the authorities, that led to the journalist’s relocation from Serbia.
The video also mentions the authors of the show “Mentalno razgibavanje” and displays excerpts from the newspapers Nova.rs and Danas, as well as parts of interviews with Bojan Pajtic and Zdravko Ponos, Serbian opposition politicians.
The video was broadcast two days after Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced that she would demonstrate in the following 48 hours that President Aleksandar Vucic is most often featured on the front pages of dailies Danas and Nova which she defined as tabloids.
President Vucic said from Italy that he has been most often featured on front pages of Danas and Nova, and added that “a lie” is the middle name of these media outlets.
Two days ago, the Coalition for Media Freedom warned the public that the messages of state officials who publicly lament the allegedly threatened rights of regime propagandists who mock the rule of law and the journalistic profession are a threat to the entire society because they hint at the torture of dissenters and endanger the system of power sharing.
April 6th, 2023