The Association of Journalists of Kosovo is extremely concerned about the events that occurred during today’s protest by the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSD) against Ekaterina Trendafilova – President of the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, where pepper spray and tear gas were used against journalists.
During the protest, journalists were obstructed by the Kosovo Police, who used pepper spray and tear gas against them. As a consequence of these actions, our colleagues Elmedina Ballazhi, Rrahman Osmani, Hasan Hoti, and others, were attacked, and Pleurat Salihu also fainted.
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo finds this behavior of the Kosovo Police unacceptable and condemns it. Hence, we urge the police to respect journalists’ work and not obstruct them in carrying out their duties. In the meantime, we ask our colleagues reporting from the field to carry their work IDs and wear Press vests to identify themselves as media workers.