Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on the European Union to take action against Serbia.
Serbia’s government is being accused of putting too much pressure on the media. This situation has not been seen since the 1990s. RSF says that this is because of a change in US foreign policy. The US stopped giving some aid to Serbia, and this made the Serbian government feel more confident in what they were doing.
A police raid was carried out on an organization called CRTA. This organization helps provide trustworthy information to Serbian citizens. They also have a fact-checking website called istinomer.rs. The raid was ordered by the Special Anti-Corruption Department of the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecution. But RSF says that there is no solid reason for this action.
The police said they were acting on tips from US officials who accused CRTA of misusing financial aid from USAID. But RSF says these accusations are unfounded and based on shaky legal grounds.
This situation reminds RSF of the way journalists were treated in Yugoslavia under Slobodan Milosevic’s rule. The head of RSF’s EU-Balkans Desk, Pavol Szalai, said that the European Union should condemn this action. He believes that Serbia wants to join the EU and therefore, the EU should take a strong stance against what is happening.
RSF thinks that the raid on CRTA was a political move, not based on any real reasons. They are calling on the European Union to firmly condemn this action and to stand up for media freedom in Serbia.
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