New York, November 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by a October 23 arson attack on journalist Blagoj Sersemov’s vehicle, which was parked at his home in Štip, around 50 miles east of the Macedonian capital Skopje, and calls on authorities to investigate and hold those responsible to account.
“The deliberate destruction of North Macedonian journalist Blagoj Sersemov’s property is clearly meant to silence him and intimidate other reporters into silence,” said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative. “Authorities must ensure that journalists can cover critical issues safely, without fear of reprisal, or intimidation for doing their job.”
Sersemov, who serves as editor of the local television and online media outlet M-Net, is facing a defamation lawsuit in connection with his reporting in which the legal team of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, an independent trade union, is representing him in the Basic Court in Štip. Ivan Breshkovski, a lawyer with the legal team, told CPJ in an email that following Sersemov’s reporting on Facebook, “a debt collector company, one of the largest quick-loan providers in the country” sued him for defamation and damages, which the association considers baseless. Sersemov told local media that he considers the damage to his vehicle “a direct attack on all media, not just on me personally.”
CPJ emailed questions to the Ministry of Interior, which oversees the police, but did not receive a reply.