January 19, 2026
The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation is appalled by the escalation of attacks on independent journalists and media, where all means are used to intimidate and silence them. These are no longer isolated incidents, but organized, daily, systematic campaigns of intimidation aimed at breaking journalists and leaving the public without information.
In just the last three days, journalist Marko Dragoslavić was followed by an unknown person with insults and death threats, journalist Vuk Cvijić and the editorial office of Radar received threats of physical violence, while the Instagram accounts of Nova.rs, Autonomija, and VOICE portals were suspended, and the account of the weekly Radar was permanently shut down. The targets of account closures include NGOs Crta and OsnaŽene, photographers Gavrilo Andrić and Irena Mrvica, and numerous activists.
The highest state officials normalize threats of violence in their daily public appearances. In the last five months of 2025 alone, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation recorded at least 674 verbal attacks by state officials on critical journalists and media. While we insist that it is the state’s duty to ensure media freedom and safe working conditions for journalists, the authorities are increasingly aggressively narrowing the space for public information.
The latest threats and media account closures are a direct consequence of continuous government campaigns that label all independent and critical voices in society as hostile and traitorous. The goal is to silence them, to create an atmosphere in which it is unbearable to be a journalist. At the same time, pro-regime media are used as a weapon to settle scores with dissidents and to create a false image of society that shapes public opinion according to the needs of the authorities.
According to data from the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, 134 cases related to attacks on journalists and media workers were opened in public prosecutor’s offices last year, of which only three resulted in convictions. Impunity, in synergy with campaigns led by the highest state officials, encourages further threats and empowers individuals to attack journalists without fear of prosecution.
The alarming situation in recent days confirms that we are in the midst of an escalation of violence that can only be prevented by the urgent reaction of competent authorities and the prosecution of perpetrators, as well as an immediate cessation of organized witch hunts against journalists. It is disheartening that we already know this will not happen.
