Attacks against journalists and other media actors constitute particularly serious violations of human rights because they target not only individuals, but deprive others of their right to receive information, thus restricting public debate, which is at the heart of pluralist democracy. Protection of the freedom of expression and freedom of the media is one of the priorities of co-operation among the European Union, Council of Europe and actors active in this area in Serbia, coming from both governmental and civil society sector.

The Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is a public space to facilitate the compilation, processing and dissemination of information on serious concerns about media freedom and safety of journalists in Council of Europe member states. It aims to improve the protection of journalists, better address threats and violence against media professionals and foster early warning mechanisms and response capacity within the Council of Europe.

On the Platform one can also find thematic factsheets that highlight the European Court of Human Rights’ relevant case-law and the Council of Europe’s other instruments aiming to protect the freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. They shed light on acts or omissions of the national authorities likely to amount to a hindrance of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

In order to encourage improvements in this field, the joint European Union and Council of Europe action on “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Serbia (JUFREX)” has translated factsheets covering following issues: harassment and intimidation; protests and demonstrations; protection of sources and impunity, making those information and standards available to media actors, policy and decision makers and all other interested parties in Serbia.

Translation was provided by the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022", and its action on "Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Serbia (JUFREX)".

• Factsheet on harassment and intimidation (in Serbian)
• Factsheet on protests and demonstration (in Serbian)
• Factsheet on protection of sources (in Serbian)
• Factsheet on impunity (in Serbian)