German Union of Journalists: Solidarity with colleagues at Nova.rs

German the union of journalists (DJU) within the union ver.di stands in solidarity with to journalists of the Serbian news portal Nova.rs and calls for the ultimatum sent to the editorial office to be withdrawn, UNS reported.

Ten days before the parliamentary elections in Serbia, the new owner of the media imposed a chief editor from the circle of pro-government media. It is about the Portuguese investment company Alpac Capital, which is also the majority shareholder of Euronews.

Nova.rs journalists received the ultimate memo: Either cooperation or severance pay

No member of the editorial board voted for the new editor-in-chief, and the board of directors rejected the alternative candidate proposed by the editorial board. He then gave the employees a choice: to comply or leave with severance pay.

"This is not a personnel decision. This is a change of editorial staff that is not to the owner's liking. Anyone who forces journalists to choose between existence and professional integrity wants to get rid of critical journalism. Media freedom cannot be bought," says Lars Hansen, DJU co-chairman.

The board of directors explicitly referred to a provision of French labor law known as the clause de cession, the purpose of which is to protect journalists when a media outlet changes ownership.

"A law designed to protect employees is now being used against them. It's cynical," says Hansen.

How to ban nova.rs journalists from writing

"Only those who report without fear for their jobs can report freely. dju within the union ver.di supports the editorial's appeal to the European Media Services Board to urgently review these events," says Peter Freitag, DJU co-chairman.

Alpac Capital and the board of directors of Nova.rs must cancel the consequences of the ultimatum and respect the editorial independence guaranteed by the contract, he adds.

"The attempt to bring the critical newsroom under control right before the elections represents an attack on the public sphere of the entire country. We are telling our colleagues in Belgrade: you are not alone," says Freitag.

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