Berlin, October 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Serbian authorities to ensure that journalists can report safely throughout Sunday’s parliamentary election, and the period that follows, after a campaign marked by physical attacks, police obstruction, and threats against reporters.
Since CPJ warned a month ago of growing risks for journalists ahead of the vote, reporters have been pushed and hit by police officers, had phones seized or cameras struck, and been prevented from covering campaign events. At some pro-government rallies, police obstructed journalists, used force to remove them or failed to intervene when reporters were attacked. Security personnel also blocked journalists from some of these events.
“The attacks we have seen during this election campaign are a warning of what could happen on October 25 and afterwards. Serbian authorities must ensure that police protect journalists rather than obstruct them and that local and international reporters can access election-related events. All reported attacks and irregularities must be promptly investigated,” said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe program coordinator.
“Serbia’s international partners, election observers, and foreign embassies should closely monitor the safety of journalists on election day, stay in contact with local media and journalist safety groups, and raise attacks or obstruction immediately with Serbian authorities. Journalists must be able to document what happens around the country without fear. Their ability to do so is an essential part of a free and fair election,” Mong said.
Recent attacks unfolded amid a broader climate of intimidation and hostility that has become increasingly common under Aleksandar Vučić, the former president who stepped down in September to run for election as prime minister after more than a decade in power.
Independent media have faced repeated verbal attacks from public officials and ruling party figures, and there have been political smears against journalists and outlets, and online threats of death, serious physical harm, and sexual violence, including against family members and children.
Several journalists had to leave Serbia because of security concerns. Independent media have also reported coordinated bot attacks on their social media accounts.
The following cases, confirmed by local press freedom and media groups including the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), SafeJournalists Network, and the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), offer a snapshot of the attacks journalists have endured and the risks they faced during the election campaign:
- On September 20, a man assaulted Aleksandar Blanuša, editor of local news site Volim Zrenjanin, while he covered an event in Zrenjanin, northern Serbia. The man pushed him over a refrigerator beside a kiosk, injuring his elbow and back; Blanuša sought medical care.
- On October 3, a man threatened and attempted to physically attack N1 television reporter Mladen Savatović while he and a cameraman filmed a building suspected of being used for fictitious voter registrations in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade.
- The same day, a man seized local news site Bečejski Mozaik reporter Kristina Demeter Filipčev’s phone, demanded that she delete footage, and warned her not to publish it. Two days later, police prevented her from filming and reporting on Vučić’s visit to a dairy farm in Bečej, northern Serbia. She received rape threats before and after these incidents.
- Aleksa Nikolić, a correspondent for online outlet ZOOMER, suffered minor head injuries when a man threw an object that hit him in the temple after he filmed a ruling party campaign stand in the southern city of Niš on October 8. Police officers at the scene reportedly refused to intervene, but later took his statement and accompanied him for a medical examination.
- On October 11, police prevented a three-person KTV crew from covering a ruling-party rally in Zrenjanin for about two hours. Presenter Nemanja Šarović said officers struck him with shields, hands, and feet and pinned him against a pole, while police also interfered with the crew’s filming and equipment.
- On October 13, security personnel pushed Nova S television reporter Katarina Golubović and online outlet Glas Zaječara journalist Miljko Stojanović and cameraman Đorđe Đorđević, preventing them from covering a ruling party rally in Zaječar, eastern Serbia. They called the journalists a “security threat” and struck the camera.
- On October 16, security personnel shoved a reporter for online outlet Mašina as she tried to question Vučić at a campaign rally in Novi Sad, northern Serbia; her name was not disclosed. At the same rally, a man confronted Žarko Bogosavljević, editor of online outlet Razglas News, and struck his phone while he was filming.
The election comes after years of mounting pressure on Serbia’s independent media. Earlier elections were also marred by violence. During local voting in March, journalists were pursued, brutally beaten, punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and obstructed from reporting, their equipment was seized or destroyed and reporters were prevented from filming at polling stations.
CPJ has published Serbian and English language safety resources for reporters covering the election and its aftermath.