Serbian Public Prosecutor issues order for cases involving journalists

NEWS 25.12.202018:48
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Serbian Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac issued instructions to all subordinate prosecutors for cases of crimes against journalists and media staff.

A statement said that Dolovac issued the binding instructions aimed at “achieving legality, efficiency and uniformity in acting on cases of crimes which endanger the safety of journalists and media staff”.  

The instructions were issued on Thursday, ordering prosecutors to act on those cases urgently. “Urgent means 24 hours at most to allocate the case from the moment criminal charges are filed and 48 hours for the initial prosecutorial acts with an obligation to contact the journalist for the sake of cooperation,” the statement said. The instructions include expanding the network of contacts.

“Every public prosecution office has to have a deputy prosecutor specializing in those cases who will work with state bodies and contact points on behalf of associations of journalists and media,” the statement said.

Dolovac is quoted as saying that she believes that the implementation of those measures will significantly help raise the level of security for journalists and media staff and adding that cooperation with journalist and media associations is of great importance.