Serbia: Violent attack on writer Vladimir Arsenijević condemned

Image Credit: Medija centar Beograd

‘The brutal assault on writer Vladimir Arsenijević comes in the wake of a pervasive crackdown on dissent in Serbia. As we express our full solidarity with Arsenijević, we once again urge the Serbian authorities to end the vicious cycle of violence and impunity, which continues to fuel relentless attacks,’ said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.  

14 July 2026 – The Serbian authorities must launch a prompt and thorough investigation into the physical attack against writer Vladimir Arsenijević and hold all perpetrators to account, PEN International said today. Entrenched impunity for crimes against writers and journalists in Serbia must urgently be addressed.  

On 11 July 2026, a group of 20 to 30 youths verbally and physically assaulted Vladimir Arsenijević under Branko’s Bridge in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. An award-winning writer, translator and publisher, Arsenijević is the president and creative director of KROKODIL, an internationally acclaimed association focusing on literature, culture and socio-political programmes. KROKODIL was planning to hold an event commemorating the 1995 Srebrenica genocide that day as part of the People Remember People coalition, when Arsenijević was ambushed by unknown assailants, who also stole his phone and sprayed graffiti on the bridge glorifying war criminals. Several PEN Centres – including PEN Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian PEN and PEN Slovenia – expressed their steadfast solidarity with Arsenijević, who suffered facial injuries as a result of the assault. No one has been held in connection with the attack at the time of writing.  

KROKODIL has faced systematic and sustained pressure from state and non-state actors, with threats soaring following the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Notably on 20 September 2024, a group of Russian-speaking men wearing clothes with far-right Serbian imagery entered the premises of KROKODIL, took down a Ukrainian flag and intimidated staff. The following month, an activist with KROKODIL was invited to the Serbian Security Information Agency to provide information about the incident. Their phone was left unattended outside the interview room during the meeting. A subsequent forensic analysis by Amnesty International found evidence that the NoviSpy Android spyware had been installed on their phone during that time.   

As repeatedly documented by PEN International, the situation for freedom of expression in Serbia is deteriorating at an alarming speed. Independent journalists and creatives are facing physical attacks, verbal threats, smear campaigns and intimidation by public officials, law enforcement officials and individuals who act with complete impunity. Death threats against writer and Honorary PEN member Marko Vidojković persist, despite Vidojković reporting them to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime. On 20 June 2026, the son of writer and PEN member Dinko Gruhonjić had his car vandalised by three individuals wearing balaclavas, ostensibly in retaliation for his father’s work and critical stance. Meanwhile, the glorification of war criminals, revisionist narratives and hate speech, and the denial of war crimes and genocide by political leaders in Serbia and Republika Srpska continues to threaten peace and stability in the Western Balkans region.   

PEN International calls upon the Serbian authorities to immediately end all attacks on independent media, journalists, academics and other creatives, and further reiterate calls for international actors to urgently help uphold fundamental rights in Serbia.   

Additional information  

For more information about the situation for freedom of expression in Serbia, please see Writers under Siege: Defying Silence – PEN International’s Case List 2026 as well as PEN’s report Toxic Narratives: Silencing Expression in the Western Balkans, available in Albanian, Bosnian, English, Montenegrin and Serbian here.  

Note to editors:

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