August 1, 2025
The campaign against Veran Matić, president of the Association of Independent Electronic Media, which has been led for some time by pro-regime media, resumed on pro-regime national television station TV Pink, where Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić appeared as a guest.
Vučić stated that the people who were “convicted because of Veran Matić” should have their convictions expunged from the records, while he should also apologise to them.
Matić views the president’s statement as giving a green light for revenge to be taken against him by all those accused of attacking and killing journalists. He has accordingly requested that the police evaluate his safety. He says that the president’s statement represents intimidation and an attempt to stop him from defending journalists against threats and attacks.
President Vučić didn’t clarify to whom he was referring, but his statement can only be linked to former State Security officials Milan Radonjić and Ratko Romić, who were initially convicted of the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija before being subsequently acquitted. Over the course of the trial, they repeatedly accused Matić of allegedly influencing the process.
