Serbia's Media Freedom Under Scrutiny

The concept of media freedom has been brought into question in Serbia, a country which is currently seeking membership to the European Union. Recent events have cast doubt on the country’s commitment to upholding freedom of expression and press rights. In April 2020, Serbian authorities raided the offices of the independent news outlet Insajder, seizing computers and documents as part of an investigation into alleged “unauthorized access” to confidential information. This incident has raised serious concerns among international organizations such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International about the government’s attitude towards press freedom. Furthermore, there have been reports that journalists in Serbia are facing intimidation from both state officials and non-state actors for their work. In June 2020, journalist Ana Lalić was attacked by two men while she was covering a protest in Belgrade; her attackers were later identified as members of a far-right group called Nacionalni Stroj (National Formation). The attack was condemned by RSF who stated that it was “a reminder that journalists must be able to work without fear or intimidation”. These incidents are just some examples of how media freedom is being threatened in Serbia. The country is currently ranked 77th out of 180 countries on RSF’s World Press Freedom Index – lower than many other EU member states – which suggests that more needs to be done if Serbia wants to join the union. It is essential that the government takes steps to ensure that journalists can report freely without fear or harassment if it hopes to become an EU member state in the future.