BIRN Serbia Wins Three EU Awards for Investigative Journalism

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Gordana Andric, Aleksandar Djordjevic, Andjela Milivojevic and Radmilo Markovic received awards for stories investigating embezzlement through public competitions, illegal constructions in Belgrade and image-based sexual abuse of women.

Photo: BIRN

BIRN journalists were awarded with three prizes at the ninth annual EU Investigative Journalism Award on October 9 in Belgrade.

The first prize went to a team from the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) – Ivana Milosavljevic, Teodora Curcic, and Vladimir Kostic – for their investigation “CINS in SNS Call Center: Hostess Agency, Vote Buying, and Millions in Cash.”

Gordana Andric and Aleksandar Djordjevic of BIRN received second prize for their investigation into a widespread network of individuals who embezzled millions of euros from the state budget through public competitions, exposing systemic failures in the mechanism intended to fund public interest projects.

The third prize was shared by Radmilo Markovic, for his investigation into illegal construction and legalisations, and Andjela Milivojevic for her work on image-based sexual abuse of women.

Markovic’s article on illegal construction reveals years of systemic legal violations by investors and municipal authorities in Belgrade. Hundreds of new buildings constructed without permits during and after 2015 were legalized without legal grounds. This process led to the legalization of nearly half a million square meters, damaging the public budget, and damaging the quality of life in the capital while enriching a few individuals. In his months-long investigation, Markovic identified over 300 buildings with a total area exceeding 450,000 square meters that were legalized without clear legal justification.

Milivojevic, in her investigation of the devastating impact of unauthorized sharing of women’s intimate photos, interviewed over 25 women and girls from Serbia about the shock, fear, and shame they experienced. She also mapped out 16 groups on the social media platform Telegram that shared private photos and videos of Serbian women, with the largest group having almost 50,000 members.

This year’s jury included journalist Ljubica Gojgic, the Secretary General of Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia Tamara Filipović Stevanovic, and Perica Gunjic, editor of Cenzolovka.

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism was established in 2015. It is given for outstanding journalistic efforts in six Western Balkan countries and Turkey, promoting media freedom and highlighting the importance of investigative work in countries where independent media play a crucial role.