Several journalists have been dismissed and a number of attacks against media professionals have been recorded since wider protests swept across Serbia following a fatal accident at a train station on November 1. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their affiliates, the Independent Journalists’ Association (NUNS), the Journalists Association of Serbia (UNS), UGS Nezavisnost (GS Kum) and the Union of Journalists and Media Workers of Serbia (SINOS), in condemning the attacks and calling for justice and accountability.

In recent weeks, Serbia has been shaken by large-scale protests after the roof of a newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad collapsed on November 1, 2024, killing 15 people. The disaster has been linked to government corruption, negligence and poor construction standards.

The accident has grown into a wider anti-corruption movement, with demonstrators demanding greater transparency and accountability from authorities. The protests, which have drawn support from students, professors, farmers and the public at large, have led to daily demonstrations and road blockades across the country and triggered Prime Minister Miloš Vučević’s resignation on January 28.

More than 80 newsrooms in Serbia had gone on strike on January 24 in response to an action of “general civil disobedience” organized by Serbian students.

In the course of January 2025, NUNS recorded over 30 attacks, verbal threats and incidents of pressure perpetrated against journalists for doing their jobs, either by public officials, police forces or individuals.

For example, public service RTS correspondent from Novi Sad, Milan Srdić, has been prevented from reporting on current events in Novi Sad. In an open letter posted on his Facebook profile, he wrote about how he has been prevented from doing his job.

On January 22, the editorial staff of the Maglocistač portal received death threats via Facebook’s messaging app.

The KRIK investigative news portal was also targeted with a lawsuit by Jelena Tanasković, director of the Serbian Railways Infrastructure and one of those suspected of being to blame for the train station accident.

The IFJ and EFJ also point to suspicious dismissals of journalists who had been participating in demonstrations as private individuals.

Award-winning journalist Vojislava Crnjanski-Spasojević, who had been working for Novosti, was dismissed on January 13for alleged “technological, economic, and organizational changes”. Her dismissal came a day after she posted a photo on her private Instagram profile story from the protest in front of the Faculty of Law and ten days after she had voiced her concerns about the disclosure of the personal data of two students on Novosti’s portal.

Another Novosti journalist who had posted her photo on social media during the protest was dismissed due to alleged “budget cuts” while the same media has, according to SINOS, hired several new freelancers and recently increased their pay.

Editor of the ELLE magazine website, Tara Đukić, was informed that her collaboration with the magazine had been terminated after she publicly supported students’ views and protests that they had organized.

The IFJ and the EFJ said: “We stand with journalists in Serbia who are carrying out their reporting activities in a climate of serious intimidation and violence. We urge the Serbian authorities to investigate every single case of attacks against our colleagues. Media freedom is essential in a democracy and the public’s right to know must be protected, by all means possible, with solid safeguards for press freedom.”