The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns the daily targeting of employees in the United Group (UG) led by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Speaker of the Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabić.
In the last month alone, journalists working in United Group’s media have received six serious death threats, and there has been one attack. It is the result of a campaign that is being led from the highest state level against the United Group. The last in the series were the statements of Aleksandar Vučić that the owner of UG Dragan Šolak came up with the idea to kill him and the accusation of Ana Brnabić on the social network X that “calls for the murder of Aleksandar Vučić on all Šolak’s media are daily and increasingly open and brutal”.
Accusations against Dragan Šolak that he “set the tone and the narrative” in which he refers to the murder of Aleksandar Vučić reflect on journalists working in the media whose publisher is the United Group and threaten their safety.
The threats received by United Group journalists have been reported, and we call on the competent institutions to react immediately.
The recent arrest of environmental activists showed that institutions have the capacity when they have the will or the order to act.
We also call on the representatives of the regime to stop criminalizing journalists and media owners.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Belgrade, July 26, 2024