CPJ calls for swift completion of investigation into threats to Tanjug

NEW YORK - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Serbian authorities to swiftly complete an investigation into a death threat emailed to journalists at the Tanjug News Agency and welcomed the authorities' "quick response" to the threat.

"We welcome Serbian authorities’ quick response to the death threat made against employees of Tanjug news agency and call on them to swiftly conclude their investigation and to hold the perpetrators to account," said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative.

"Authorities must ensure the safety of all journalists reporting on Kosovo and not allow threats against the press to go unpunished," Mong said in a statement.

On Monday evening, Tanjug received an email signed by an individual named "Trim Bardhi" that said Tanjug journalists would get "a bullet to the back of their heads" the next time they set foot in the territory of Serbia's Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija.

Serbian Minister of Information and Telecommunications Dejan Ristic said on Tuesday the threat had been emailed from Albanian territory and that it was the most serious one a Serbian media outlet had received in years.