March 31, 2022
Verica Marinčić, a journalist of the IN medija portal based in Inđija, a small town situated between Novi Sad and Belgrade, received what she perceived to be threatening messages via her Facebook account. She subsequently informed the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), after which NUNS’ lawyer filed a report with the Office of the Prosecutor for High-Tech Crime.
Speaking to Cenzolovka, Marinčić said that she’d received the messages from an unknown man and that she believes his reaction was caused by an article about a local priest who was removed from a Lidl supermarket by police, which was published on her portal the previous day. The story of the priest behaving inappropriately in a Lidl shop was also published by other media outlets in Serbia.
This journalist has previously been subjected to numerous threats and insults via social media, but also a case of intimidation and stalking that didn’t receive an epilogue in court. That’s also why, as she told Cenzolovka, she remains very sceptical about the way the prosecution will respond to this latest case, though she nonetheless reported the threat because she believes all undo pressure exerted over journalists should be reported and recorded.
