Independent Journalists' Association Condemns Authorities Attack on Journalists in Parliament

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The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (IJAS) condemned the ruling Serbian Progressive Party on July 11 for claiming that journalists who seek access to information relevant to the public were undermining the country's security.

During a debate on the work of the commissioner for information relevant to the public in the Serbian Parliament on July 10, the whip of the Serbian Progressive Party, Aleksandar Martinovic, stated several times that journalists who seek information that is sensitive in the security sense were not meaning well to their country.

"Such arbitrary and very dangerous statements of a high official of the ruling party lay grounds for more attacks and threats against journalists, and for the even greater jeopardizing of their safety," IJAS wrote in the statement.

The Association urged the president of Serbia and of the Serbian Progressive Party, Aleksandar Vucic, to declare a stance about Martinovic's claims, in which he accused the outgoing commissioner, Rodoljub Sabic, of working for foreign intelligence services and for the opposition, against the ruling party and the Serbian state.

IJAS stressed that the journalists who sought information that is relevant for the public on the basis of the law, pertaining to numerous scandals of the authorities, "have in no way undermined the security of the country."

"The problem is that they did not get answers to many questions, despite the requests and warnings issued by the commissioner," the Association stated.