September 2, 2024
Immediately following the campaign against NGOs and media companies, the fiercest campaign to date has continued against Serbia’s largest cable television network, Luxembourg-based United Group, which owns television stations N1 and Nova S, both of which broadcast reports that are critical of the authorities.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has accused United Group co-owner Dragan Šolak, as well as the media outlets in the Group’s composition, of being part of a conspiracy to plan his murder. Vučić denied having made the announcement the very next day, but the recording on his Instagram profile in which he said exactly that remained.
The accusations were immediately repeated by National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić, who was joined by the Minister of Information and many other government representatives.
There has been no revealing of a single example of these media outlets calling for the president’s assassination or the violent overthrow of the government. United Media informed representatives of the international community about the authorities’ latest attack against independent media in Serbia, stating:
“Apart from such accusations being utter nonsense, they are dangerous and irresponsible because they directly threaten the security of journalists and prevent them from performing their important social function – informing the public about topics of importance to the public.”
The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation pointed out the threat to the security of United Group journalists after the authorities’ accusations, warning that any incident that harms journalists would be the responsibility of President Vučić and Serbian Assembly Speaker Brnabić.
Recapping recent events, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia noted that United Group journalists have been attacked once and received six death threats in the last month alone.
