Serbian press freedom faces 'critical' situation, media monitoring group warns

BELGRADE, Serbia — Press freedom in Serbia has reached a ''critical'' situation, with attacks and threats against journalists on the rise amid massive anti-government protests, an international media monitoring group said on Wednesday.

''We came here because we observed an unprecedented crisis for media in Serbia,'' Jasmijn de Zeeuw, from the Free Press Unlimited group, said. De Zeeuw, who was part of a Media Freedom Rapid Response, or MFRR, delegation visiting Serbia this week, urged a response from the European Union.

Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but populist President Aleksandar Vucic has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms, including the freedom of the press.

De Zeeuw said attacks on journalists in Serbia have doubled compared to a year ago, while 56 incidents have occurred in response to the media coverage of a Nov. 1 train station tragedy in Serbia's north that killed 16 people and the protests that followed.

''The instances we recorded include physical attacks, threats, including severe death threats, online smear campaigns, raids of offices without search warrants and blockades of journalists and media.'' de Zeeuw said.

''We are strongly disturbed by the number of violations against press,'' she added.

Last week, Reporters Without Borders issued a similar verdict, saying: ''Serbian journalism is being systematically repressed yet European political leaders remain locked in a state of guilty inaction.''

There was no immediate reaction from the Serbian government to the findings. The government's Information Ministry earlier this week expressed ''concern'' that the MFRR mission will not be objective and impartial and was ''selective'' in choosing whom to meet.

Jamie Wiseman, an advocacy officer with the International Press Institute, said Serbia ranks among the countries in Europe to have the highest confirmed use of spyware against journalists, who face increasing legal lawsuits filed by senior officials and public figures.

''These are clearly aimed at supressing legitimate public interest journalism on important matters,'' Wiseman warned.

Vucic's government has stepped up pressure aimed at quelling the protests. He has called protesting university students ''terrorists," while Serbian media reported at least two foreign citizens have been ordered to leave the country over protest support.

Speaking in Paris on Wednesday, Vucic criticized the private United Media group which owns N1 and Nova television stations that have extensively covered the demonstrations. The company is a ''platform for conducting violence in Serbia," Vucic said on Instagram.

Diaz-Jogeix urged ''the Serbian authorities, but in particular we call on the President of Serbia, to cease all public attacks on journalists and media, including those covering protests.'' The EU, he said, "needs to speak up.''