Matic: Threats such as those made to Tanjug need to be taken very seriously

BELGRADE - Threats to journalists are absolutely impermissible and intimidation directed at all Tanjug journalists needs to be taken very seriously, says Veran Matic, who heads a commission set up by the Serbian government to investigate killings of journalists.

On Monday evening, the Tanjug News Agency received an email signed by an individual named "Trim Bardhi" that said Tanjug journalists would get "a bullet to the back of their heads" the next time they set foot in the territory of Serbia's autonomous province of Kosovo-Metohija.

"Such threats need to be taken very, very seriously. First of all, newsrooms must take their journalists very seriously and look after them and keep warning them. It is important to send journalists trained for safe reporting, and investigative authorities must do their job very efficiently and keep us informed of everything they have been doing," Matic told Tanjug.

It is absolutely impermissible for anyone to make threats to journalists, especially those who have to do their job, Matic said, noting that there was no journalism without going to an area to report from it.

"This is intimidation that occurs very frequently, and there is more and more of it when it comes to cross-border messaging and, in particular, anonymous individuals hiding behind various pseudonyms," Matic said.

In situations like these, a prompt reaction by investigative authorities is very important, as is identifying the address a message has been sent from and the sender of the threat, Matic said.

Therefore, if the threat comes from the territory of another country - in this case, Albania - that requires international legal assistance and "cooperation between the two countries must be on a really high level and must be followed through," Matic said, noting that punishing the perpetrators was important as it was the only way to avert further threats to journalists.

Asked if the fact that Tanjug kept stressing that, under the Constitution of Serbia, Kosovo-Metohija is an autonomous province of Serbia was sufficient motivation for threats and violence, Matic said:

"Unfortunately, today we are in a world where it is really possible for any fact and something that is absolutely not wrong to become a motive for threats," he said, noting that one of the latest threats to Serbian journalists had been sent by email following the publication of fake news in a newspaper.

Later, the perpetrator was arrested after coming to Serbia but the case was not followed through and that person was allowed to escape, Matic said, adding that the investigation of the case had included international legal assistance between France and Serbia.