IJAS strongly disapproves of the threat, written in a direct message to the Instagram account of Zoomer, and calls on the authorities to react.
After the Zoomer portal published the article “We asked young people how they live in Kosovo”, their office received messages with offensive content, some of which contained serious threats.
One of the users of the social network Instagram sent a message to the inbox with the following content: “Hello communists, remove the picture where you are spitting at Kosovo. Don’t let us know who you are, it won’t go well. Greetings .” Our association was informed about the threat, and, in agreement with the Zoomer office, prepared and submitted a criminal report to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime in Belgrade.
“Any kind of threat and attack is inadmissible and must be sanctioned. I feel obliged to protect the entire Zoomer editorial office, as well as to point out the problems that journalists face and suffer various attacks just because they do their job, and someone doesn’t like that. We feel threatened and do not want the threats growing into something more, just as we do not want to stop doing our job – well and undisturbed. It is important to keep our safety, and to indicate how bad our position is“, said Tamara Urosevic, editor in chief of the portal Zoomer.
This is the first registered attack on this media, but it is just another in a series of a general offensive against free and independent journalism.
We call on the institutions to take all necessary measures in resolving this case and the representatives of the authorities to disapprove such threats to journalists.
IJAS reminds that Serbia fell by three places on the ranking list of Reporters Without Borders media freedom in 2020 and that it is now in the 93rd position.
IJAS,
21.1.2021.
