BELGRADE, 28.02.2019. – The Independent Union of Journalists in Serbia (NUNS) protested over a suspended sentence handed by the Higher Court in Belgrade to a man who had sent death threats to a journalist and her daughter, the Beta news agency reported on Thursday.
Branko Tomic, 36, from the eastern Majdanpek town, walked free form the courtroom after tweeted severe death threats to Tatjana Vojtehovska, a TV journalist, and her daughter, receiving an 8-month suspended sentence.
NUNS described the punishment as “uncomprehendingly mild,” accusing Serbia’s judiciary of “practically encouraging verbal violence toward journalists.”
Vojtehovski said she was “shocked” with the verdict, especially with the fact that the judge Ivana Ramic did not take her or her daughter’s statement, as demanded by the prosecutor.
She said she was afraid for her and her family life.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the sentence.