Vienna, 09/09/2017
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed deep concern after it was revealed that staff of Subotica-based web portal Maglocistac (Magločistač) received explicit death threats.
An article published by the independent portal on 4 September titled “We are all Gosa workers, and all the rulers of Labans” reported about alleged death threats made by the Mayor of Subotica to one of his party colleagues. Afterwards, several individuals posted comments under the article on the portal’s Facebook page, stating that they should “be slaughtered like rabbits” and that their “tonsils will be crushed under boots”.
SEEMO condemns the vile hate speech expressed by these individuals and calls on authorities in Serbia to protect the safety and wellbeing of Maglocistac’s staff from the death threats they have received. The perpetrators must be penalized according to law in order to clearly show that free speech and human rights in Serbia are protected.
SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.