Serbia: RSF calls on the EU to condemn the 28-hour police raid on an independent media outlet that received USAID
Emboldened by Donald Trump's toxic rhetoric and freezing of US foreign aid, the pressure exerted by the Serbian government on the media has reached a level not seen since the 1990s. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the institutions of the European Union (EU) - which Serbia wants to join - to firmly condemn the deliberate targeting and criminalisation of an organisation providing Serbian citizens with trustworthy information.
A 28-hour police raid that stretched into the night upended the offices of the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), the non-governmental organisation (NGO) behind the fact-checking website Istinomer.rs. The police operation was conducted on 25 and 26 February and targeted four NGOs in total, coming at the request of the Special Anti-Corruption Department of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade. The public prosecutor justified the raid by citing allegations made by members of the US government that recipients of financial aid from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) may have “misused funds” and “laundered money”.
Although CRTA’s activities, including Istinomer.rs were supported by USAID — which was suspended by President Donald Trump in late January — the Serbian police raid was based on unfounded accusations and shaky legal grounds. The police referred to the Criminal Procedure Code, which authorises it to locate the perpetrators of a crime, prevent them from escaping or continuing their activities, and secure evidence. The police searched the premises of a media outlet certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative — a global journalism standard developed by RSF — without the oversight of an independent judge or any guarantees that the journalists’ sources would be protected.
“This police raid is reminiscent of the techniques used to intimidate and denigrate journalists during the era of Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Emboldened by Donald Trump's toxic rhetoric and freezing on foreign aid (USAID), the pressure exerted by the Serbian government on the media has reached levels not seen since the 1990s. We call on the European Union — which Serbia wishes to join — to firmly condemn this attempt to criminalise and discredit an organisation providing Serbian citizens with trustworthy information.
The raid on the headquarters of CRTA — whose fact-checkers and experts are often critical of the Serbian government and frequently quoted in public debate — was a political move. On 16 February, the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic voiced the need for the “prosecution” of “crimes” committed by Serbian NGOs. One week later, the Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic stated that “CRTA is one of those organisations under investigation for receiving money from USAID.” The ensuing police raid was reported by several pro-government media outlets 30 minutes before it started, and their coverage continued into the beginning of the raid.
Increased pressure
The Serbian regime has stepped up its political attacks on independent media which have been followed by violence against journalists. Days before the police raid, the office of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina was broken into and death threats were issued against its president Ana Lalic and other journalists. What’s more, Serbian journalists associations have withdrawn from the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, a government consultation body.
Political leaders in other countries have also taken US President Donald Trump’s anti-press actions and statements as a green light to increase pressure on independent media outlets that were supported by USAID. “It is necessary to make their existence legally impossible,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in early February. His Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico, and the leader of the Czech opposition, Andrej Babis, pledged to ask the US authorities for information about the USAID beneficiaries in their respective countries — an attempt to intimidate these independent outlets.
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