Since July 29, FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza has been subjected to a coordinated defamation campaign by media outlets closely aligned with the Serbian government. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their affiliates in Serbia (NUNS, UNS), in standing in solidarity with Skrozza and in condemning these smearing methods aimed at publicly discrediting the journalist with false information.

The defamatory articles first appeared on the news portals informer.rs and novosti.rs on 29 July, followed by further dissemination through primetime news on Pink Television and other media close to the government. Tamara Skrozza was falsely accused of stating during the program “If I Were Someone” on TV N1 that “President Vučić should have been killed on the night of October 5 and 6, 2000”, a statement that she never made. IJAS clarified that her actual comment, referring to the mass demonstrations in Belgrade on 5 October 2000, was taken out of context and did not mention President Aleksandar Vučić or any call for violence.

This campaign is a clear example of the pressure exerted on independent journalists and media in Serbia, which aims at creating a climate of insecurity and self-censorship. This is not the first time Tamara Skrozza has faced such attacks. In 2018, she and several colleagues were similarly accused by the same media, Pink TV Broadcast, of plotting against Prime Minister Vučić. On 31 July, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications condemned “the increasing frequency of manifestations of hate speech and open calls for violence and/or even murder of dissidents that fill our public space,” with journalist Tamara Skrozza quoted as a prime example.

“This kind of smear campaign, not only against Tamara Skrozza, but against all free-thinking people in Serbia, is unfortunately not new, and the script and handwriting of it is very well known. They leave their mark on our colleagues, but if they hope to silence them, this will not happen. What has particularly worried, confused and surprised us this time was the announcement by our minister, who, instead of taking action against the media for breaking the law, silently defended them and attacked our colleague Skrozza, accusing her of hate speech”, said Tamara Filipović, project manager of the Association of Independent Journalists of Serbia (NUNS).

“The reaction of the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications bears witness to the alarming state of press freedom in Serbia. By joining the tabloids campaign, Dejan Ristić paves the way for further persecution of journalist Skrozza,” stated IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.

“Smear campaigns and baseless accusations are dangerous tools used to silence critical voices. We join the Safe Journalists Network in calling the authorities to act now in order to safeguard media freedom in Serbia and put an end to this toxic culture of fear and intimidation,” declared EFJ President Maja Sever.