The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns the attack on N1 journalist Lea Apro, whose phone was taken by an unknown young man while reporting from the blockade of the Faculty of Technical Sciences (FTS) in Novi Sad.
During the blockade, the students pointed out to the N1 reporter a young man who was filming the N1 reporter with his phone. She approached him and asked him why he was filming her and who he was. At one point, he snatched the phone from her hands and gave it to another young man, who then, after a struggle, returned the phone to her.
After the incident, several young men surrounded the N1 team, and in the FTS building, during the blockade, a group of young men who blocked the Faculty of Philosophy in March, due to the alleged hate speech of professor Dinko Gruhonjić was seen.
In recent days, there have been more frequent attacks and threats against journalists for doing their job. IJAS reminds that, according to data from the database of the SafeJournalists Network, 17 attacks and pressures on journalists were recorded in November alone, and that, according to data from the IJAS database, 149 attacks, threats and pressures on journalists have been recorded so far in this year.
We demand that the authorities do everything to protect journalists during reporting and enable them to carry out their work unhindered, and at the same time we appeal to all actors in society to reduce tensions and enable journalists to carry out their work unhindered.