2024 Activity Report of the Permanent Working Group for Safety of Journalists

The 2024 Annual Report on the Activities of Permanent Working Group for Safety of Journalists (PWG) presents the implementation of numerous activities and projects in 2024 aimed at improving journalists’ safety in Serbia.

In 2024, based on filed criminal charges or reports, 62 cases were opened in Serbia’s public prosecutor's offices, related to acts against journalists which is lower than in 2023, when 76 cases were opened. The first-instance or final decision was rendered in 17 cases, which represents 27.42% of the total number of cases. In the cases filed in 2024, there was only one conviction, which is a significant decrease compared to 2023, with 12 convictions.

One of the most significant activities in 2024 were the visits to local communities - PWG visited nine cities (Jagodina, Leskovac, Novi Sad, Prijepolje, Šabac, Sremska Mitrovica, Vranje, Zaječar and Zrenjanin) and met with over 300 local stakeholders, thereby contributing to improved dialogue and strengthening of mutual trust.

This Report was written by the PWG members: Tatjana Vasiljević Veljković (Supreme Public Prosecution of Republic of Serbia), Kruna Savović (Independent Journalists Association of Serbia) and Miroslav Janković from the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

Since its establishment in January 2017, all activities and projects of the PWG have been supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia.