OSCE Representative welcomes arrests following murder of journalist in Serbia, praises police swift action

VIENNA, 20 June 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the arrests of three people for the murder of radio journalist Luka Popov in Serbia.

“The swift reaction of local law enforcement authorities is very important,” Mijatović said. “Every attack on a member of the media must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.”

Popov, a radio journalist in Čoka and Novi Kneževac, was killed on 16 June in his home in Srpski Krstur. Reportedly, the murder was not tied to Popov’s work as a journalist.

Mijatović said she remained hopeful that the authorities will do their utmost to shed light on other unsolved cases of murder and attacks against journalists, including:

• Dada Vujasinović, journalist and reporter for the news magazine Duga, found dead in 1994;
• Slavko Ćuruvija, owner of the Dnevni telegraf newspaper killed in 1999;
• Milan Pantić, journalist with the daily Vecernje Novosti killed in 2001; 
• Davor Pašalić, editor of FoNet news agency, attacked in 2014;
• Predrag Blagojević, editor with the news portal Južne vesti, attacked in 2015.

The Representative reiterated her support for the 2014 initiative by the authorities establishing a commission to speed up investigations into the deaths of Serbian journalists.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.