Identify and Punish the Attackers of Journalist Vuk Cvijić

Such threats represent a serious endangerment of the personal safety of a journalist and constitute unacceptable pressure on media freedom and on the public’s right to be informed.

We wish to emphasise in particular that Vuk Cvijić is also a member of the Civil Committee for the Protection of Activists and Whistleblowers, which gives these threats additional gravity and clearly indicates an attempt to intimidate those who act in the public interest.

These threats against Vuk Cvijić are not an isolated incident. In previous years, he has been subjected to a physical attack by a media owner, physical violence by members of the police Intervention Unit, as well as other forms of pressure and threats to his safety due to his professional work. All these cases passed without an adequate, timely, and effective response from the competent institutions, thereby sending a message that attacks against journalists and activists are tolerated and go unpunished.

Previous cases of violence and threats against journalists and defenders of the public interest have been accompanied by a continuous absence of prompt and effective institutional responses, which has further encouraged perpetrators and endangered the safety of those who carry out their work professionally and responsibly.

The Civil Committee therefore demands that the competent authorities:

1. Immediately initiate an effective and independent investigation into the threats directed at Vuk Cvijić, and ensure that the public is informed in a timely manner of its progress;
2. Identify and sanction all individuals responsible for issuing the threats, as well as those responsible for earlier attacks that have, to this day, not received a judicial outcome;
3. Implement concrete measures to protect journalists, activists, and whistleblowers who act in the public interest, including a security risk assessment regarding journalist Vuk Cvijić.

Attacks and threats against journalists constitute an attack on fundamental democratic rights and freedoms, as well as on citizens’ right to be timely and accurately informed. The protection of journalists, whistleblowers, and activists must be a permanent obligation of institutions and a clear indicator of respect for the rule of law.

The Civil Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Whistleblowers will continue to monitor this case and to respond publicly to every form of pressure and threat to the safety of those who act in the public interest.