SLAPPs in Serbia: Bojana Jovanović on the burden of SLAPPs on independent investigative journalism and the public discourse
31/05/2023
Recorded at the margins of the panel co-organized by ARTICLE 19 Europe and Osservatorio dei Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response and the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) for the #ijf23 in Perugia, Italy.
Bojana Jovanović is a founding member of KRIK, a prominent Serbian investigative outlet known for its quality reporting on crime and corruption. The Mapping Media Freedom platform has registered 22 alerts concerning KRIK since 2015, including smear campaigns, verbal attacks, death threats and SLAPPs. KRIK continues to be buried under an avalanche of vexatious lawsuits often filed by individuals affiliated with the ruling political camp. Some of these cases have been initiated as a response to Jovanović’s investigations. Currently, KRIK is facing 12 ongoing lawsuits.
On 3 May 2023, KRIK was convicted by the High court of Belgrade following an article compiling a list of SLAPP cases they have been facing, together with the names of plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was brought by the Police commander Goran Zivkovic and two of his colleagues from the Witness Protection Unit who were among those mentioned in the KRIK’s article. The judge imposed on KRIK a 3,200 Euros fine for damages for alleged emotional pain and trial expenses, and ordered the outlet to remove the names of the policemen from their website.
Recorded at the margins of the panel co-organized by ARTICLE 19 Europe and Osservatorio dei Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response and the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) for the #ijf23 in Perugia, Italy.
