The smear campaign against N1 television has been intensified by public officials in recent weeks and culminated with a protest of about 30 people for around three hours in the courtyard of the building where the newsroom is located.
The protesters introduced themselves as the “People’s Headquarters” and held speeches with sound systems and banners. While the group didn’t enter the newsroom, journalists were threatened, disrupted in their work, and employees were not feeling safe leaving the premises. N1 reported on its website: “They called N1 staff to come out of the building and said that the station is not telling the truth. According to them, the wrath of the people would catch up with N1 TV.”
According to N1, several plainclothes policemen were present in front of the building but didn’t react because they had not been ordered to identify the demonstrators or remove them from private property. N1’s editor-in-chief reported the incident to the police.
NUNS denounced the lack of response from the police and the prosecutor’s office: “N1 television is under massive attack, both from representatives of the authorities and from extreme right-wing groups (…). N1 television and its journalists are said to be the cause of tragic events, newsrooms and journalists are regularly threatened, and events such as this rally, if allowed, only increase the tension and the level of threats against journalists.”
In the days leading up to the protest against N1, MP of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) twice blamed media of the United Media (UM) group – especially N1 and Nova S – for the school shooting that happened in Belgrade earlier this month. He suggested that journalists were creating “a sick environment conducive to such tragedies”.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger condemned increasing threats and intimidation against journalists and media workers from N1 and recalled that the failure of the political class to accept and respect the role of critical journalism is dangerous, as international press freedom and journalists' organisations, including the IFJ, outlined some months ago. "This reprehensible behaviour by government representatives and politicians normalises hostility towards the media, endangering our colleagues. We call on the authorities to fulfill their obligation to protect media professionals and guarantee their safety."