Vienna, 17/07/2016
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) called on authorities to investigate the recent intimidation and threats made against KRIK (Crime and Corruption Reporting Network) in Serbia.
SEEMO was informed that journalist Dragana Peco and KRIK’s editorial office received verbal threats. These new threats come after several months of insulting campaigning conducted by several pro-governmental media outlets and individuals. Additionally, KRIK was attacked over social media many times in recent months.
According to KRIK, two individuals sent threatening messages via Twitter to journalists after KRIK published investigations that revealed the assets of several government officials. KRIK managed to identify one of the individuals who sent threats, and forwarded the information to Serbian state prosecutors. The account of the other person, whose identity is unknown, goes by screen name ‘Petar Pan’.
‘We fully support all KRIK staff and the platform itself, which makes a valuable contribution to strengthening democracy in Serbia by reporting on vital issues that are in the public interest. Intimidation and threats against journalists are never acceptable.’ said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic.
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.