Serbia PM Rejects Censorship Claims in Germany

During his first official visit to Germany on Wednesday, Prime Minister Vucic said that recent allegations of censorship in the Serbian media were false.

"There are some problems in that respect (media freedom) and the government in Belgrade is open to comments, but remarks coming in the past days are misleading," Vucic said, answering a question on the freedom of the media at a joint press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.

Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said on Wednesday that "the message to Serbia's leaders remains the same."

"Activities relating to the media situation should be investigated and those who stand behind them must be held accountable. Also, people must not be arrested for what they wrote," Mijatovic told Danas daily paper.

"The role and the duty of the government is to protect and promote freedom of expression, both on and off the internet. It is also its obligation under the Constitution, and it is up to the institutions to investigate," she added.

He went on to say that the Serbian government intended to "guarantee full and aboslute freedom of the media".

Controversy about alleged censorship in the media has raged in Serbia since websites criticising the government's handling of the floods crisis were taken down as a result of hacker attacks.

On Monday, Vucic complained of growing pressure on the media to attack him, which he said was coming from ambassadors based in Belgrade and from abroad.

The following day, the US and EU ambassadors along with OSCE representatives reminded the Serbian authorities of the importance of upholding freedom of expression.

As a result, many in Serbia expected the issue of the media to be discussed in...