OSCE Mission to Serbia organizes ambassadors' visit to B92 to show support for investigative journalists
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, led a group of 13 ambassadors in a visit to TV B92 on 8 March 2011. The visit was arranged to show support for the broadcaster and its investigative journalists, who have received death threats from radical and organized crime groups.
The ambassadors strongly condemned the threats, saying they endanger a free media.
"The authors of these anonymous threats should be identified and brought to justice. As Serbia endeavours to modernise and reform, threats to journalists are incompatible with country’s objectives. Freedom of speech is a core part of a modern state," Ambassador Kypreos stated. "We support the government's efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice."
B92 Chief Editor and Managing Board President Veran Matic told the ambassadors – from Denmark, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Greece, France, Israel, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States – about the work of the station’s investigative reporters and the threats they face. He also vowed to further develop the investigative arm of the media outlet to protect the public interest.
This visit was the second of its kind. A group of ambassadors visited B92 last year to support journalist Brankica Stankovic, who had been targeted by death threats from football hooligans after her investigative reports. Stankovic received the OSCE Mission to Serbia's Person of the Year award in 2010.
The OSCE Mission to Serbia works to support the development of a free media through projects to improve the country’s policy and legislative framework, and to upgrade the professional skills of journalists.