Vienna, 19/09/2016
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) once again criticized threats against media workers in Serbia.
SEEMO has previously condemned the threats made against Nedim Sejdinovic, President of Independent Association of Vojvodina Journalists (NDNV), after he participated at a round table on 11 September. Sejdinovic made political comments which were then shared by media outlets, and for which he faced threats and hate speech from multiple sources. The attacks have not subsided, and Sejdinovic was recently the recipient of an anonymous letter calling for his resignation and threatening that if he does not comply, both him and his colleague Dinko Gruhonjic, NDNV Program Director will be found “floating in the Danube”.
“The growing severity of these threats has concerned us very much” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said today. “We ask the institutions in Serbia to abandon their lax, tolerant attitude towards death threats and possible attacks on journalists, and finally react in a professional and equipped manner. Threats against Sejdinovic and Gruhonjic is deplorable, and needs to be sanctioned immediately” Vujovic then added.
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.