Actual attacks on journalists, Nova TV crew, Štrbački buk, 10.5.2025.

CJA •︎ 13/05/2025

Actual attacks on journalists, Nova TV crew, Štrbački buk, 10.5.2025.

Translations: Zagreb 

  • Case info

  • Personal info

  • Regional center
    Zagreb
  • Who was attacked?
    Group
  • Group members' names and surnames
    Danka Derifaj and Miroslav Bokan

  • Media outlet

  • Name of the media outlet
    Nova TV
  • Type of media platform
    Radio
  • Source of information about the incident
    Media

  • Incident Data

  • Date of incident
    10.05.2025
  • City
    Štrbački buk
  • Perpetrator(s)
    Known (suspected)
  • Attacked by
    (ordinary) citizens
  • Means of incidents and attacks
    In person
  • Type of incident
    Actual attacks on journalists
  • Type of attack
    attack_without_injury

  • Action by the authorities

  • Police action
    Police officers from the Donji Lapac Border Police Station have completed a criminal investigation involving a 65-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman, both Croatian nationals, on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of “Coercion against a person performing duties of public interest or in public service.” The two are suspected of verbally and physically assaulting a 49-year-old journalist and a 43-year-old cameraman, also Croatian nationals, on Saturday, 10 May 2025, around 6:00 p.m. in the parking area at Štrbački Buk. At the time of the incident, the journalist and cameraman were filming a segment for a television program, and the alleged attack was intended to prevent them from carrying out their work in the public interest. The suspects were arrested and, accompanied by a criminal complaint, were handed over this morning to the custody supervisor of the Lika-Senj County Police Department. The police acted in accordance with the Protocol on the Treatment of Criminal Offenses Committed Against Journalists and Other Media Workers While Performing Their Professional Duties. This protocol was signed by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia in cooperation with the Croatian Journalists’ Association and the Croatian Journalists’ Union.

  • Action taken by the journalists' association

  • Was journalist's association informed by the journalists directly?
    No
  • What was the reaction of the journalists' association?
    The association reacted publicly

While filming a report on the long-term devastation of land along the Una River, the reporting team of Nova TV’s Provjereno programme was physically attacked. The incident took place in the area of Štrbački buk, where a married couple—who have been unlawfully claiming and degrading state-owned land—refused to speak with the journalists. Instead, on Saturday, they hurled threats and profanities at the crew. They first physically assaulted cameraman Miroslav Bokan, and then attacked journalist Danka Derifaj, who was trying to de-escalate the situation and was struck in the face—slapped.