The same decree banned the retransmission by domestic radio stations of programmes from foreign broadcasters such as the Serbian-language services of the BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and others. In recent months, that is before the decree, a number of independent radio stations have been closed down. Representatives of the independent media have repeatedly complained about unreasonable restrictions on the allocation of licences and frequencies which have been used as the pretext for these closures. Amnesty International is concerned that these measures are part of a widespread pattern of restrictions and abuses against journalists critical of the government and activists in non-governmental organizations working in Serbia. Ethnic Albanian journalists and human rights activists in Kosovo have been beaten and detained by police and others.
Journalists working in the official media are also vulnerable to human rights abuses.
This weekend two Serb journalists working for an official news agency were reported to be missing among fears that they may have been abducted by armed ethnic Albanians. Two other Serbian journalists have been missing since 21 August. Many commentators believe that the biassed reporting by the state-controlled media in Serbia has contributed to an atmosphere of extreme nationalism where the concept of the human rights of other nationalities or ethnic groups is at best ignored. He had accused Serbian non-governmental organizations of being a fifth column. Three days later, an ethnic Albanian camera operator working for the American agency, APTV, was reportedly beaten by police.