SafeJournalists, EFJ and IFJ: Death threats against Tanjug journalists in Serbia must be investigated

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) together with the SafeJournalists Network stand in full solidarity with Tanjug journalists who have received death threats by email over Kosovo and Albania reporting and urge the authorities to conduct an immediate investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

On 30 September, media workers of the news agency Tanjug were threatened with death via an email sent to the newsroom office. The author of the death threat email, who signed as “Trim Bardhi”, declared that any Tanjug journalists who entered the Kosovo-Metohija region would be “shot in the back of the head” over their reporting on Kosovo and Albania.

“Just so you know that we are following the lies that you spread every day about the state of Kosovo and the Albanians, just as we are following the movements of every journalist of your pseudo-media agency in Kosovo. Be sure that one of them will get a bullet in the back of the head the next time he steps on the soil of the Republic of Kosovo,” the email stated.

According to the Ministry of Information’s Dejan Ristić, who immediately contacted the High-Tech Crime Department of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, the threat was identified as coming from Albania.

“We are grateful to the Ministry of Information, together with the High Tech Crime Department of the Higher Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, for identifying the source of the threat. The Ministry showed how it can react in the shortest possible time and we expect it to do the same in similar cases in the future, especially when threats come from territory where it has authority. Those who make these death threats must be punished. Journalists must feel protected and their right to move freely and carry out their work without fear of attack must be guaranteed.”, said the SafeJournalists Network.

“We condemn in the strongest terms possible the gruesome death threats received by journalists at Tanjug News Agency. Journalists must be able to carry out their work, including on Kosovo territory, without fear of being ‘shot in the head’. Death threats against media professionals are an attack on media freedom and the public’s right to know. It is crucial to ensure a swift and thorough investigation into the death threat, so that the perpetrators are deterred from repeating similar criminal behavior in the future”, said the IFJ-EFJ.

The death threats represent a serious attack on media freedom and further jeopardise the safety of journalists working in increasingly difficult conditions on a daily basis. According to the latest Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) monitoring, there have been twelve incidents of death threats against journalists since January, ten of them online. It is therefore crucial that the relevant institutions show determination to protect media freedom, starting with prosecuting the perpetrators of online threats that endanger journalists’ lives before they can escalate beyond the screen.

Signed by

The International Federation of Journalists

The European Federation of Journalists

SafeJournalists Network

Association of Journalists of Kosovo

Association of Journalists of Macedonia

BH Journalists Association

Croatian Journalists’ Association

Independent Journalists Association of Serbia

Trade Union of Media of Montenegro