Serbia is the only country in the European Union (EU) – Balkans zone where journalists have had to leave for reasons connected to their work. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the EU to stop turning a blind eye on media freedom in the EU candidate country.
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Journalist Marko Vidojković, a columnist ... the Serbian online outlet Nova.rs, left Serbia in 2023 due to death threats after being the target of a public smear campaign led by President Aleksandar Vučić. As recently as August 16, 2026, calls for his murder were made against him, according to the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (IJAS). The police investigation into threats against Marko Vidojković has so far produced no result.
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Marko Vidojković is one of the six Serbian journalists working from exile, according to RSF’s information. One left in 2024, another four left Serbia this year.
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The most recent departure is that of Aleksandar Radić, a freelance journalist specialising in military affairs and among the first to state publicly – in line with other media reports – that a sonic weapon had probably been used against the participants at the anti-government protest in Belgrade on March 15, 2025. Belgrade's Higher Prosecutor's Office has since been investigating whether that account was fabricated. Radić was detained for an "informational interview", after which pro-government media published surveillance footage of him and his underage daughter, along with his private exchanges with other journalists. Threatened with political attacks and a possible arrest, Aleksandar Radić left Serbia at the end of June 2026. On July 17, the Interior Ministry filed a criminal complaint accusing him of preparing acts against the constitutional order and security of Serbia and of disclosing classified information.
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RSF knows the identities and host EU countries of the other exiled journalists, but has chosen to withhold the information for their safety ... A recent report on media freedom co-signed by RSF condemned the spiral of violence which affects the whole journalism profession in Serbia. RSF listed Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić as a "press freedom predator" in 2025.
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Although the European Commission (EC) concluded in July in its Rule of Law Report that “the safety of journalists further deteriorated” in Serbia, that same month the EC proposed opening a new cluster of chapters in Serbia's accession negotiations, deeming that the necessary overall balance had been achieved. Eight member states objected, citing the state of the rule of law and effectively blocking the opening of the new negotiation chapters.
Serbia ranks 104th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index, the last spot among the 40 countries of the EU-Balkans zone.