February 22 (SeeNews) - Impunity for crimes under international law and slurs by officials and media close to the government created a toxic environment for transitional justice activists and independent media in Serbia in 2017,
human rights-focused non-governmental organisation Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Investigative journalists in Serbia were subjected to smear campaigns by ministers and media close to the government, the organisation said in the 2017/2018 edition of its report The State of the World’s Human Rights.
The ruling party’s private security staff physically attacked six journalists reporting on demonstrations held during the presidential inauguration on May 31. In July, journalists working for the Network for Investigating Crime and Corruption (KRIK) received death threats, and the flat of investigative reporter Dragana Peco was broken into, Amnesty International said.
Former Serbian military leaders released after serving sentences handed down by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) were offered influential positions. In December, despite a UN Committee against Torture ruling against his extradition, Serbia returned a Kurdish activist to certain imprisonment in Turkey.
The appointment of Ana Brnabic, a lesbian, as prime minister, and her presence at the Belgrade Pride in the capital in September was welcomed by some as progress. However, the authorities failed to protect LGBTI individuals and organisations from discrimination, threats and physical attacks, Amnesty International said.
Roma families in Belgrade continued to live in informal settlements and to face ill-treatment by police, while refugees and migrants were trapped in the country. Those trying to enter the EU via Hungary and Croatia were repeatedly and violently returned to Serbia.
Transitional justice non-governmental organisations were attacked by senior government officials, including president Aleksandar Vucic, by media supportive of the government and on social media, Amnesty noted.