January 15, 2020
Unknown individuals broke into the newsroom of local portal kolubarske.rs in Valjevo, which is known for its critical reporting on the work of local authorities.
Police performed an inspection of the offices and announced the filing of criminal charges for attempted burglary.
Journalists from the portal found ransacked drawers and documentation scattered on the floor, but nothing of value was stolen.
Speaking to Cenzolovka, portal editor-in-chief Darija Ranković said that nothing of value was even there to have been taken away, which is why the motive couldn’t have been theft alone, but that it was more likely a kind of warning to journalists due to investigative articles about the spending of budget funds and the work of local officials.
This portal has been under pressure due to its writings for a long time, and the editor-in-chief herself has been exposed to verbal lynchings of the entire network of local newspapers for over three years.
She has received a series of personal insults and many different heinous content has been published about her, including false qualifications and pornographic photo montages. Such content is mainly published by media outlets that are financed using citizens’ money through local information funding contests.
