# Serbia

Government actions against journalists in Serbia

[RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index). World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); rank 1 is the freest.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Serbia is in Southern Europe, Europe. The record holds 2 incidents in which the government of Serbia, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.

## Tactics used

- [Detention and violence: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=RS&tactic=detention_and_violence), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence
- [Funding and ownership pressure: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=RS&tactic=funding_and_ownership_pressure), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/funding_and_ownership_pressure
- [Insult and defamation laws: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=RS&tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws

## Heads of government at the time

- [Aleksandar Vucic: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/aleksandar-vucic)
- [Slobodan Milosevic: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/slobodan-milosevic)

## Incidents by year

### 2025

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| September 5, 2025 | [Serbian police strike, detain and disarm journalists covering anti-government protests](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-serbia-police-target-journalists-protests) | [Detention and violence](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/detention_and_violence) | Punish | [Aleksandar Vucic](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/aleksandar-vucic) | Ongoing |

### 1998

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| October 20, 1998 | [Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines) | [Insult and defamation laws](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/insult_and_defamation_laws) | Punish | [Slobodan Milosevic](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/slobodan-milosevic) | Reversed (January 1, 2001) |

Ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. Timeline: https://thewaronnews.com/timeline/country/rs.

Download incidents in Serbia. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/rs?format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/rs.json
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/rs.md

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/rs. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.