OSCE:Threats of Violence Against Radar Editorial Team, Cartoonist Must Be Taken Seriously

Jan Braathu (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC/MO)

Threats of violence that have been directed at the editorial staff of the Radar weekly and cartoonist Dusan Petricic must be taken seriously, representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on freedom of the media Jan Braathu warned on Dec. 12, urging the authorities in Serbia to identify and prosecute those responsible.

“Multiple threats of violence against the editorial staff of Radar and cartoonist Dusan Petricic,  alluding to the killings at (the French satirical magazine) Charlie Hebdo in 2015, as well as threats via Facebook to journalists Marko Vidojkovic and Nenad Kulacin, must be taken seriously,” Braathu said.

The OSCE official also said he was confident that “Serbian authorities will swiftly investigate, identify, and prosecute the perpetrator or perpetrators, in accordance with national laws and the 2018 Decision on the Safety of Journalists of the OSCE Ministerial Council.” Brutal threats were sent to the email address of Radar's editorial team and the weekly’s website, targeting the entire team, and in particular cartoonist Dusan Petricic. Similar threats were also sent via Facebook to the authors of the podcast “Dobar, los, zao” (Good, Bad, Evil), aired by Nova S television, writer Marko Vidojkovic and journalist Nenad Kulacin.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has called on prosecutors and police to react promptly and find out who is threatening and intimidating journalists, cartoonists, and writers, and to provide protection to the Radar editorial team and its employees in the meantime. The threats were reported to the competent prosecutor’s office by ANEM President Veran Matic, who is also a member of the Standing Working Group for the Safety of Journalists.