Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights, said Serbia’s institutions had not dealt appropriately with the violence against women and that issue remained a serious topic concerning human rights in the country, BETA news agency reported on Thursday.
Mijatovic told Belgrade-based daily Danas daily that female journalists in Serbia were under risk of violence, including death threats, but that they continued to work courageously.
She said the serious worries were caused by the fact that people who intimidate the journalists were encouraged by smear campaigns in tabloids and public attacks by some politicians on the media people.
According to Mijatovic, the “robust” political polarization harmed the media sphere which became more polarized than ever before.
“I am particularly worried about the level of disinformation and propaganda spread by some media in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina which aim at generating fear and escalate hatred,” Mijatovic stressed.
