The pro-regime TV Pink aired a video calling for the arrest of journalists at United Group electronic, print and online media, the Nova.rs portal reported.

It said that the video, aired on TV Pink’s main evening news, called for the arrest of journalists and editors at Nova.rs, Danas daily, Nova S and N1 TV stations for their criticism of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. The video also claimed that the fact that pro-regime Informer tabloid owner Dragan J. Vucicevic refused to pay damages awarded by a court in a private lawsuit filed by journalist Jugoslav Cosic for insults on Twitter is linked to the criticism of the authorities.

“The thing that is more dangerous than that twisting of facts is the call for the introduction of verbal crimes,” the portal said.

The video included excerpts from shows and reports aired on Nova and N1 TVs, in Danas daily and on Nova.rs. It said that “the people behind all this, who published all this are still at large”. “The unidentified video authors tried to draw a parallel with the Vucicevic case and added that United Group media outlets are gloating over the fate of the pro-regime tabloid owner who, it claimed, was ordered to serve time in jail as punishment for the truth. Vucicevic was ordered to serve a six-month jail sentence because he refused to pay the 200,000 Dinars (1 Euro – 117 Dinars) in damages ordered by the court. He spent less than 2 days in jail before the money was paid into the budget. Vucicevic spent days on TV claiming that he was being politically persecuted.

“The truth is that none of our journalists was sentenced for the same thing that Vucicevic was sentenced for nor have any legal proceedings for insults been launched against any of the editorial staff in Danas, N1, Nova.rs and Nova TV. The call to arrest journalists and editors at media outlets owned by United Group is another indicator that the authorities won’t tolerate media it can’t control and that it will use all means available in its campaign including its obedient media who are prepared to hide behind claims of freedom of expression and spend a day in jail and provide justification for the possible future arrests of critics of the authorities,” it said.