The Press Freedom Foundation of Serbia expresses its indignation and protest against the arrest and harassment of Ana Lalić, journalist at the Nova.rs news site. The Foundation condemns every measure, past and future, undertaken by the authorities with the goal of preventing the free flow of information.
It is the task and obligation of the media and of journalists to inform the publilc in an accurate, realistic, objective, and timely manner, as well as to provide public control over the activities of those in power. This is true under all circumstances, even during a pandemic. All those who try to obstruct or prevent this, are, in the end, hurting their own citizens by disjoiing them from receiving an accurate and realistic picture of the current – serious – situation. The path that starts with vexing and intimidating journalists, and treating them like potential criminals, may end in banning the word coronavirus itself. That path cannot be called democratic or European. If there are complaints about the work journalists do, there is a way to bring it to the attention of the profession and its organizations – but the police should have nothing to do with journalists!
We call upon state organs in charge and authorities on all levels to abstain from harassing journalists. The basis for creating panic is not the spreading of true information but its hiding. The task of state organs is not silencing but the handling of the crisis based on steady decision-making, broad collaboration, and full, sincere communication with the public.
The Board of Directors of the Press Freedom Foundation
April 3, 2020
