The House of Human Rights, a coalition of civil society organizations dedicated to advancing and promoting human rights, has decided to award one of its annual recognitions for contributions to human rights protection in Serbia to the N1 newsroom. The organization stated that N1 has delivered “impeccable, truthful, and timely reporting, despite being exposed to significant risks.”

“N1 has helped all of us tremendously and, in many ways, protected us by exposing themselves and their journalists to daily risks at the protests. Reporting on the truth, which is painful for those in power, came with constant threats to their safety, and the very question of N1’s survival is still on the table-though we hope it won’t come to that,” it was said during the award ceremony.

According to the official explanation, N1 is being recognized for its exceptional, courageous, and continuous reporting on student and civic protests across Serbia, human rights violations, and attacks on citizens and journalists.

Through consistent, responsible, and timely reporting, N1 has played a crucial role over the past year in safeguarding the public’s right to freedom of information and expression, despite intense pressure and serious security risks faced by the newsroom.

The Board of the House of Human Rights emphasized that N1’s perseverance, professionalism, and dedication to the public interest have ensured that citizens receive independent, verified, and relevant information, making the newsroom a shining example and a strong pillar of human rights values in Serbian society.

“On behalf of all our journalists, cameramen, and producers who create our programming, thank you. In my decades-long career, a year like this one has never happened before. What our journalists accomplished is almost unimaginable: working 10 to 12 hours a day, dealing with constant uncertainty, having to respond, adapt, and above all protect people detained during the demonstrations. We tried to reach every one of them to obtain timely and accurate information, and I believe we succeeded in helping protect human rights. We will continue to do our best. Our journalists were physically assaulted, even police officers struck us, and there has been no outcome or accountability. We will strive to justify your trust in the coming year, assuming our owners allow us to continue,” said N1’s news director, Igor Božić.