The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) condemns the terrorist attempt to assassinate journalist Dejan Anastasijević and his family and calls on all state bodies to take the issue seriously and conduct a speedy and effective investigation into the incident. It is not difficult to surmise who may have been so irritated by Anastasijević’s investigative reports which he has professionally and courageously focussed on throughout his career. The BCHR would like to recall that states and their competent bodies are obliged to protect the fundamental human rights of all individuals, including the right to life, to liberty and security of person and to the freedom of expression. The fact that a well-known journalist was attacked early Saturday morning ought to be the ultimate warning that will prompt the executive authorities, police and judiciary to finally investigate in detail who in Serbia feels he can threaten the lives of citizens and journalists, thus intimidating the general public as a whole. We hope the investigation will not cease once the perpetrators of this serious crime are identified and that both the state bodies and the media will show the will to investigate the background, organisers and motives of those behind the attack.
Serbia’s Government, political parties and media need to be cautious about the signals they are sending, signals allowing any self-styled ‘patriot’ to attack the life and liberty of any person he considers a ‘bad Serb’. The attack on Anastasijević is not an isolated incident, but the murders of and threats against other journalists have not been taken seriously to date. Their perpetrators have never been brought to justice. In democratic societies, journalists are not protected only because they are journalists, but also because of the nature of their work and its importance in ensuring the continued functioning of a democratic order. For these reasons, the investigation to ensue ought to be merely part of the proceedings which will result in the punishment of the assailants on Anastasijević and the perpetrators of the crimes he has been writing about notwithstanding the risks to his life.
