The Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (IJAV) announced on Friday, January 17 that Serbian police and Gendarmerie threatened journalists who reported on the break-in of opposition politicians into the City Hall in Novi Sad and physically removed them so they could not record the events inside the building.
“Radio 021 journalist Dragana Prica and her colleague Ksenija Pavkov from N1 television were physically dragged by the arms and shoulders by the police and pushed towards the exit, despite the fact that both of them presented their identification several times. Colleague from the Danas newspaper, Aleksandar Latas, was threatened by a policeman that he will be “tied up”, while TV Nova S cameraman Darko Eker was dragged by the policemen by his backpack with television equipment. Journalist Žarko Bogosavljević was even physically knocked to the ground,” announced IJAV.
The event that journalists followed in Novi Sad was one of a series of events related to the current protests in Serbia and blockades of faculties and other institutions, which were initiated after the fall of the canopy at the train station in Novi Sad, when 15 people died.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) has repeatedly pointed to the inadequate behavior of the police during these protests, that is, their failure to respond to attacks on journalists and interrupting journalists while reporting on the protests.
This time, the members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia seriously threatened the public interest because they apparently received an order to hinder media workers from performing their work, which is of great interest to the citizens of Serbia, instead of ensuring their safety during reporting.
IJAS condemns such actions by members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose main task is to protect the citizens of Serbia, including media workers.
The SafeJournalists Network joins its member IJAS and since Serbia still does not have a director of police, we demand that the head of police administrations in Serbia and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dačić, do their job responsibly and do not abuse their legal powers, to guarantee the safety of journalists and to provide journalists reporting unhindered by members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The SafeJournalists Network will inform relevant national and international stakeholders.
Every attack on journalists is an attack on the public interest, democracy, and the rights of all citizens.
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Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
Association BH Journalists
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro