OSCE message to Serbian leaders "unchanged"

OSCE message to Serbian leaders "unchanged"

BELGRADE -- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović has said that "the message to Serbia's leaders remains the same."

Good cooperation with the Serbian government does not mean that she will stop pointing to violations of media freedoms, she told the Belgrade-based daily Danas.

"Activities relating to the media situation should be investigated and those who stand behind them must be held accountable. Also, people must not be arrested for what they wrote," Mijatović said, and added:

"The role and the duty of the government is to protect and promote freedom of expression, both on and off the internet. It is also its obligation under the Constitution, and it is up to the institutions to investigate."

She noted that Vučić assured her that addressing these issues is a priority, adding that they agreed to meet as soon as possible to discuss these and other media related matters.

"There are some new cases that show the state of media freedom in Serbia. Last Thursday, RTV Mladenovac reporter Dragan Nikolić was requested to come to the police station for an interview because of a Facebook post in which he allegedly insulted and harmed the reputation and dignity of public figures. Questioning journalists for what they write and threatening them with lawsuits is unacceptable," said Mijatović.

She pointed out that she issued a statement in December of last year, in which she expressed concern over hacker attacks on a number of information websites and illegal removal of research articles from some online media.

On May 27, the OSCE official criticized Serbian authorities for media censorship which prompted a reaction...