Who is guilty for non-identifying policemen who beat Raičević

02/04/2018

PODGORICA, 02.04.2018. – Commission for Monitoring Actions of Competent Authorities in the Investigation of Cases of Threats and Violence against Journalists, Assassinations of Journalists and Attacks on Media Property in January this year, published a report on the work for the period covering September 23, 2017 to January 23, 2018.

We publish part of the Commission’s report regarding the investigation of the attack on IN4S portal’s editor Gojko Raičević during 2015 protests. It was compiled by Dragoljub Duško Vuković and Marijana Camović.

Raičević claims that in October 2015, police officers attacked him physically without any reason, inflicting him minor injuries. His claims he supported with the findings of medical specialists, testimony of TV Srpska cameraman Goran Ćetković and video footage. Police officers who are suspected for applying unreasonable force have not yet been identified.

From the documents available to the Commission it can be undoubtedly concluded that Raičević on two occasions on the night of October 24, 2015 was the victim of physical violence. He was attacked by masked police officers, members of the Special Anti-terrorist Unit (SAJ) who were present without any legitimate reason.

Consequences of this unlawful police violence are light physical injuries which Raičević documented with valid medical records.

However, from the documents available to the Commission it cannot be concluded with certainty that Raičević was a victim of an unlawful police violence during detention on the morning of October 17, 2015. One detail, however, from the official arrest note made by police officers supports Raičević’s claim that during entering the police van he was pushed and kicked and therefore he fell and injured his knee. The note said that during the “entrance into the vehicle” Raičević’s black purse “Samsonite” slipped from his shoulder. It was, according to the note immediately handed over to the police officer-driver of the vehicle. In support of Raičević’s claim, there is also a medical report on the sustained injuries.

Based on the documents available to the Commission, it is clear that the Police Directorate, despite the urgent appeals from the judiciary, and the requests made by the Protector for Human Rights and Freedoms and the Council for Civilian Control of Police Operations, did not make any serious and transparent effort to identify police officers who are suspected of an unlawful application of force. Emphasizing the fact that SAJ members were masked as aggravating circumstance for the identification of those who violate the laws and rights a message that masked policemen enjoy special protection, which is not law-based is sent to citizens. This creates a lack of citizens’ trust in the police in general, and in its special units in particular.

Intervencija policije u sjevernom dijelu Mitrovice ugrozila sigurnost novinara

BHJA

02/04/2018

PRIŠTINA, 31.03.2018. – Regionalna platforma za zagovaranje medijskih sloboda i sigurnosti novinara koja zastupa više od 8.000 članova, osuđuje najnovije incidente protiv medija i novinara tokom policijske intervencije na sjeveru Kosovske Mitrovice.

Incident se dogodio 26. marta kada je specijalna policijska jedinica – Regionalna operativna jedinica za podršku (ROSU) – u sjevernom dijelu Kosovske Mitrovice uhapsila zvaničnika Vlade Srbije Marka Đurića koji je, kako navodi kosovska vlada, ušao u zemlju bez prethodnog odobrenja vlasti u Prištini.

Novinari su pratili sastanak Đurića i drugih zvaničnika sa građanima u sjevernom dijelu Kosovske Mitrovice kada je došlo do intervencije policije.

Tokom intervencije, ROSU je koristila šok bombe i suzavac kako bi rastjerala gomilu koja je blokirala ulaz u zgradu u kojoj je održan sastanak. U haotičnoj situaciji, nekoliko novinara je povrijeđeno, a nekim medijima je oštećena oprema. Neki predstavnici medija napadnuti su i na drugim lokacijama.

Još jednom je očigledno da novinari i mediji rade u veoma opasnim okolnostima. Zbog toga Platforma ponovo izražava zabrinutost za bezbjednost novinara i insistira na tome da kosovske vlasti istraže policijsku akciju.

Zamjenik direktora kosovske policije u sjevernom dijelu Kosovske Mitrovice, g. Hoti, rekao je Udruženju novinara Kosova da nijedan slučaj napada nije prijavljen od strane novinara.

Platforma ohrabruje sve novinare da prijavljuju incidente i slučajeve upućivanja prijetnji ili napada tokom obavljanja posla. Takođe, vlasti moraju osigurati nesmetan i bezbjedan rad novinara.

Od početka 2018. godine, Udruženje novinara Kosova evidentiralo je 7 incidenata protiv novinara, uključujući 1 fizički napad i 6 slučajeva zastrašivanja, ne uključujući najnovije incidente.

Svaki napad na novinare je napad na javni interes, demokratiju i prava svih građana.

Udruženje/udruga BiH novinari

Sindikat medija Crne Gore

Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo

Udruženje novinara Kosova

Udruženje novinara Makedonije

Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije

EFJ osudio napade na novinare u Kosovskoj Mitrovici

IJAS

02/04/2018

BRISEL, 02.04.2018. – Evropska federacija novinara (EFJ) osudila je napade na novinare koji su se dogodili u ponedeljak u Kosovskoj Mitrovici, tokom akcije specijalnih jedinica.

EFJ je pozvao kosovske zvaničnike da hitno sprovedu istragu zbog napada na snimatelja Vladimira Milića i novinarke Draganu Zečević i Radmilu Komazec.

“Nivo nasilja bio je veoma veliki, što se jasno videlo na televizijskom snimku”, istakli su iz EFJ, a saopštio je Sindikat novinara Srbije koji je obavestio tu organizaciju o napadu.

Milić radi za Radio televiziju Srbije, a na novinarskom zadatku u Kosovskoj Mitrovici napao ga je kosovski policajac koji mu je slomio kameru, dok su Zečević i Komazec napadnute verbalno i puškama oborene na zemlju.

Intervencija policije u severnom delu Mitrovice ugrozila bezbednost novinara

IJAS

30/03/2018

PRIŠTINA, 31.03.2018. – Regionalna platforma za zagovaranje medijskih sloboda i bezbednosti novinara koja zastupa više od 8.000 članova, osuđuje najnovije incidente protiv medija i novinara tokom policijske intervencije na severu Kosovske Mitrovice.

Incident se dogodio 26. marta kada je specijalna policijska jedinica – Regionalna operativna jedinica za podršku (ROSU) – u severnom delu Kosovske Mitrovice uhapsila zvaničnika Vlade Srbije Marka Đurića koji je, kako navodi kosovska vlada, ušao u zemlju bez prethodnog odobrenja od strane vlasti u Prištini.

Novinari su pokrivali sastanak Đurića i drugih zvaničnika sa građanima u severnom delu Kosovske Mitrovice kada je došlo do intervencije policije.

Tokom intervencije, ROSU je koristila šok bombe i suzavac kako bi rasturila gomilu koja je blokirala ulaz u zgradu u kojoj je održan sastanak. U haotičnoj situaciji, nekoliko novinara je povređeno, a nekim medijima je oštećena oprema. Još medijskih radnika je napadnuto na drugim lokacijama.

Još jednom je očigledno da novinari i mediji rade u veoma opasnim okolnostima. Zbog toga Platforma ponovo izražava zabrinutost za bezbednost novinara i insistira na tome da kosovske vlasti istraže policijsku akciju.

Zamenik direktora kosovske policije u severnom delu Kosovske Mitrovice, g. Hoti, rekao je Udruženju novinara Kosova da nijedan slučaj napada nije bio prijavljen od strane novinara.

Platforma ohrabruje sve novinare da prijavljuju incidente i slučajeve upućivanja pretnji ili ako su napadnuti tokom svog rada. Takođe, vlasti moraju osigurati da novinari ne budu ometani u svom radu i da mogu da rade bezbedno.

Svaki napad na novinare je napad na javni interes, demokratiju i prava svih građana.

Udruženje/udruga BiH novinari
Sindikat medija Crne Gore
Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo
Udruženje novinara Kosova
Udruženje novinara Makedonije
Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije

“Vidjet ćeš svog Boga u svlačionici”: Suđenje Z. Petričeviću za prijetnje novinarima Novog lista

CJA

30/03/2018

RIJEKA, 30.03.2018. – Zlatko Petričević je verbalno prijetio novinaru Denisu Frančiškoviću, a na fotoreportera Sergeja Drechslera je i fizički nasrnuo, pokušavajući mu oteti fotoaparat te ga zatim zajedno s bratom Markom gurao prema svlačionicama.

»Da, znam zašto sam ovdje, ali se ne smatram krivim za to djelo jer ga nisam počinio«, odgovorio je jučer optuženi 58-godišnjak Zlatko Petričević, s prebivalištem u Meksiku, bivši predsjednik Uprave kostrenskog Nogometnog kluba Pomorac iz Kostrene, na pitanje sutkinje Anamarije Zubović Bogosavljev kakav stav zauzima u odnosu na optužni akt.

Petričević je optužen zbog prijetnji izrečenih novinaru sportske redakcije Denisu Frančiškoviću i fotoreporteru Novog lista Sergeju Drechsleru potkraj rujna 2014. godine u Kostreni. Bila je riječ o redovitom novinarskom zadatku, Frančišković i Drechsler došli su na stadion u Žuknicu kako bi izvijestili s jutarnjeg treninga momčadi, ali i provjerili hoće li drugoligaški klub iz Kostrene to isto poslijepodne krenuti za Dubrovnik. Naime, loša financijska situacija u klubu s razlogom je stavila pod upitnik odlazak na kup utakmicu.

Necivilizirani istup

Na parkiralištu ispred zgrade stadiona novinarska ekipa je sačekala izlazak igrača, ali se pojavio i Zlatko Petričević zaprijetivši novinaru da »više ne dolazi, kao ni ostali iz Novog lista«. Nezapamćenim neciviliziranim, ponajviše nesportskim ponašanjem i rječnikom, Petričević je u trenutku kad je Drechsler počeo snimati priprijetio i njemu. Okomio se na njega, zagrmio »da ne snima više te da pobriše sve fotografije«. Drecshler mu se predstavio kao fotoreporter Novog lista ukazujući Petričeviću da samo radi svoj posao pa je optuženi prijeteći krenuo prema Frančiškoviću. No, kad je Petričević uočio Drechslera da s podignutim fotoaparatom snima njegovo približavanje novinaru, naglo se okrenuo pa fizički nasrnuo na njega, hvatajući ga i udarajući rukama u predjelu vrata i ramena, pokušavajući mu istrgnuti fotoaparat. Drechsler je povikao »zovite policiju«, a Petričević mu odgovorio »možeš zvati koga god hoćeš, ali ću te srediti u svlačionici kluba gdje ćeš vidjeti svog boga, tu te nitko neće naći«. Gurao je tako Petričević Drechslera zajedno s bratom Markom Petričevićem u smjeru svlačionica, ali se fotoreporter uspio istrgnuti i pobjeći u unutrašnjost stadiona, odnosno prostoriju.

No, Petričević se obratio potom Frančiškoviću pa mu verbalno priprijetio da je »gotov« ukoliko spomene ili napiše nešto o Petričevićima. »Neće mi biti teško odrobijati za tebe pet godina«, prijetio je pa zahtijevao od novinara da mu pusti snimku prethodno obavljenog intervjua.

Porekao prijetnje

Ispitan na tužilaštvu, Zlatko Petričević je porekao da je na bilo koji način prijetio obojici, a kamoli da ih je spriječio u obavljanju novinraskog zadatka vezanog za probleme njegovog tadašnjeg kluba. No, drugi ispitani svjedoci potvrdili su optužbe gotovo istovjetno i vrlo jasno, onako kako se činjenično i stavljaju na teret Petričeviću.

I dok je tužiteljica, zamjenica Općinske državne odvjetnice Renata Randić, u uvodnim riječima naglasila da će dokazati dva kaznena djela prijetnje, Petričevićev odvjetnik Slobodan Večerina ustraje da će dokazati suprotno, »aktivno sudjelujući u dokaznom postupku«. I stoga će na sljedećoj raspravi biti ispitani novinar Denis Frančišković, fotoreporter Sergej Drechsler, ali i još četiri svjedoka. Riječko Općinsko državno odvjetništvo u optužnici što ju je podignulo još krajem 2014. godine, od suda traži da Petričeviću izrekne za svako kazneno djelo po šest mjeseci zatvora te da mu na kraju odmjeri jedinstvenu bezuvjetnu kaznu zatvora od osam mjeseci.

Podsjetimo, nakon ružnog nesportskog događaja reagirao je i Izvršni odbor Nogometnog saveza Primorsko-goranske županije, podnijevši prijavu Disciplinskoj komisiji protiv tadašnjih čelnika Nogometnog kluba Pomorac, braće Zlatka i Marka Petričevića. Kaznila je predsjednika Pomorca Zlatka Petričevića s dvije, a njegovog brata i dopredsjednika Marka s godinom zabrane obavljanja funkcija u nogometu zbog prijetnji smrću i napada na novinara i fotoreportera. Za obojicu okrivljenika kazna zabrane funkcija u nogometu obuhvatila je zabranu obavljanja svih funkcija u bilo kojem tijelu kluba, saveza ili druge nogometne udruge u aktivnostima koje se obavljaju unutar nogometne organizacije i koje su vezane uz sportsku djelatnost, uključujući i djelovanje u tijelima Saveza.

Economic pressures are the most frequent forms of pressure on media professionals in BiH

BHJA

30/03/2018

Banjaluka, 30. marta 2018. – Economic unsecurity is the most frequent form of pressure on journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As stated in the report presented today in Banja Luka “Indicators on the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety” owners and directors of the media “keep the journalists on a short leash”.

“Journalists in BiH areoften faced with various forms of attack. From 2013 to mid-2017, 88 threats and 22 physical attacks were recorded, of which only a quarter were solved in favor of journalists, “said the general secretary of BH Journalists Association Borka Rudic, while presenting the findings of the study and emphasized the problem of impunity for attacks on journalists in BiH.

Besides, the lack of labor laws and trade union professions at the state level is directly reflected in the level of protection of journalists, through the unequal access of journalists to social and material protection. Therefor, fear and mistrust of the workers in the real power of the trade unions exicts.

The president of the BHJA Journalists club Banja Luka, Siniša Vukelić said that the media scene in Republika Srpska has the same problems as the whole region and that these problems are presented for decades, and reminded that last year an attempt was made to criminalize libel, and that the Club of Journalists had previously had the initiative to treat the attack on journalists as an attack on an official but has not received institutional support.

Senior Assistant at the faculty of Political Science, University of Banja Luka, Borislav Vukojević, evaluated that it is necessary to improve and adapt the education system for journalists in BiH. “There is also a problem of fake news that many media uncritically download and continue to transmit. Nevertheless, it is positive that media dealing with media are being formed recently and they point to the problem of false news, “said Vukojević.

It was pointed out that in order to improve the media freedom and security of journalists in BiH, it is necessary to define the ownership of the media and the transparent criteria and procedures for financing the media from the public budgets. In addition, it is recommended to establish a fund for media pluralism and programs in the languages of national minorities, as well as the need to harmonize court practice in the FBiH and RS in prosecuting defamation cases.

The report “Indicators on the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety” is the second research conducted within the regional project Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for advocating media freedom and journalists’ safety , which is implemented by the national journalists’ associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro. This report is a follow up of the baseline study on legislation, socio-economic and political situation with respect to freedom of media and security of journalists, which identified the key challenges and recommendations for associations of journalists and other stakeholders.

Полициската интервенција во Северна Митровица ја загрози безбедноста на новинарите

AJM

30/03/2018

ПРИШТИНА, 30.03.2018 – Регионалната платформа на Западен Балкан за застапување на слободата на медиумите и безбедноста на новинарите, која застапува повеќе од 8000 членови, ги осудува последните инциденти кои се случија врз новинарите за време на полициската интервенција во Северна Митровица.

Инцидентот се случи на 26ти март, каде специјалната полициска единица – Регионална единица за оперативна поддршка (ROSU) – во Северна Митровица го уапси претставникот на српската влада Марко Ѓуриќ, кој според Владата на Косово, влегол во државата без претходно одобрение од властите во Приштина.

Новинарите ја покриваа средбата на Ѓуриќ и другите претставници со граѓаните на Северна Митровица, кога полицијата изврши интервенција на тоа место.

За време на интервенцијата, специјалците искористија шок бомби и солзавци за да ја разделат толпата која го блокираше влезот на зградата каде се одржуваше средбата. Во таа хаотична ситуација, неколку новинари беа повредени и дел од нивната опрема беше оштетена. Меѓутоа, и други новинари беа нападнати на друга локација.

Повторно е очигледно дека новинарите и новинарските работници работат во многу небезбедни околности. Оттаму, Платформата повторно ја истакнува својата загриженост во однос на безбедноста на новинарите и инсистира Косовските власти да спроведат истрага за полициската акција.

Заменик директорот на косовската полиција во Северна Митровица, г. Хоти, му посочи на Здружението на новинарите на Косово во врска со полициската акција, дека ниту еден случај на нападнат новинар не бил пријавен од страна на ниту еден новинар.

Платформата ги охрабрува сите новинари да ги пријават инцидентите и нападите секогаш кога се нападнати или добиваат закани на работното место. Исто така, ги повикува властите да направат се што е во нивна моќ за да обезбедат безбедна средина за работата на новинарите.

Од почетокот на 2018 година, Здружението на новинарите на Косово регистрираше 7 инциденти врз новинари, вклучувајќи тука еден физички напад и шест случаи на застрашување, не вклучувајќи го последниот инцидент.

Секој напад на новинар, претставува напад врз јавниот интерес, демократијата и правата на сите граѓани.

Police intervention in Mitrovica North affected safety of journalists

CJA

30/03/2018

PRISTINA, 30.03.2018 – The Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety, representing more than 8000 members, condemns the latest incidents against media and journalists during the police intervention in Mitrovica North.

The incident took place on March 26^th when special police unit – Regional Operational Support Unit (ROSU) – in Mitrovica North arrested the Serbian government official Marko Djuric who, according to Kosovo’s government, had entered the country without prior approval by Pristina authorities.

Journalists were covering the meeting of Djuric and other officials with citizens of Mitrovica North when the police intervention took place.

During the intervention, ROSU used shock bombs and tear gas to disperse the crowd which was blocking the entrance of the building where the meeting was taking place. In that chaotic situation, several journalists were hurt and some media equipment was damaged. Even some other media workers were attacked at another location.

It is again evident that journalists and media people are working under very dangerous circumstances. Therefore the Platform again expresses its concern about the safety of journalists and insists Kosovo authorities should investigate the police action.

Deputy director of Kosovo Police in Mitrovica North, Mr. Hoti, told the Association of Journalists of Kosovo that no case was reported to them by any of journalists.

The Platform encourages all the journalists to report incidents and cases whenever they are threatened or attacked during their work. Also, the authorities have to make sure that the work of journalists is not obstructed and that they can work safely.

Since the beginning of 2018, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo registered 7 incidents against journalists, including 1 physical assault and 6 cases of intimidation, not including the latest incident.

Every attack on journalists is an attack on the public interest, democracy, and rights of all citizens.

Skopje – Belgrade – Podgorica – Pristina – Sarajevo – Zagreb, 29.03.2018.

BH Journalists Association

Trade Union of Media of Montenegro

Croatian Journalists’ Association

Association of Journalists of Kosovo

Association of Journalists of Macedonia

Independent Journalists Association Serbia

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Joint Meeting of the Intersectoral Group for Freedom of Expression and Media and Working Group on Chapter 8 “Competition Policy”

CJA

30/03/2018

BELGRADE, 30.03.2018. – The meeting was opened by Nataša Dragojlović, Coordinator of the National Convention on the European Union, Maja Stojanović, Executive Director of the Civic Initiatives and Coordinator of Intersectoral Group for Freedom of Expression and Media and Slobodan Krstović in front of NALED, as the Coordinator of the Working Group for Chapter 8 “Competition Policy”.

Maja Stojanović emphasized that freedom of the media and expression permeates many chapters in the negotiation process with the EU, and therefore Chapter 8, which relates to the competition policy. “Protecting media competition and controlling the granting of the state aid to the media is an extremely important area, to which more attention has to be paid,” Stojanović said.

The National Convention on the European Union, in its four years of work, has been recognized as a mechanism in which good dialogue can be conducted between the key actors in the negotiation process, said Nataša Dragojlović. She also pointed out that NCEU has solid evidence, based on serious analyzes and research, that the media situation is very bad, but that NCEU is ready to cooperate with the relevant institutions, to give their recommendations and suggestions so that the entire negotiation process would be more serious and more effective.

“The fair market and the improvement of the business environment would enable a better balance of financing of the media from public sources and the private sector, greater independence of the media and it would reduce the scope for arbitrary decisions in granting state aid,” said Slobodan Krstović. He underlined that the non-enforcement of regulations and legislative provisions in this area should not be the result of ignorance or political promotion.

Vesna Kovač, State Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, and Siniša Milošević, Head of the Economic Analysis Sector from the Commission for the Protection of Competition, spoke about the current situation in the area of media competition protection.

In the opinion of State Secretary Vesna Kovač, Chapter 8 is the most complex chapter, which will be last opened and last closed. She stressed that our legislative framework in the field of competition is largely harmonized with the EU acquis and that the draft Law on Protection of Competition is in the pipeline, which should eliminate all the shortcomings of the previous law in this field.

Siniša Milošević said that the media market is very specific and dynamic. “The Commission for the Protection of Competition did not conduct sectoral analyzes for this market because the legal provisions for this were not fulfilled, but that does not mean that the analysis will not be carried out in the future,” Milošević stressed.

Miloš Stojkovic, lawyer from Živković-Samardžić Law Office and Nemanja Nenadić, program director of Transparency Serbia, talked about the experiences and practices in the field of media competition at the meeting.

In the beginning, Stojković emphasized that the most important question is whether the media market exists at all. “There is no media pluralism in Serbia today, the offer is unclear, we do not have quality media content, while in recent years there has been a trend of progressive growth in the number of media.” Also mentioned were the main problems that the media in Serbia face today, such as privatization, reduction of state influence in the framework of project co-financing and regulation of business transparency. “The state has never completely emerged from the media sector, it is still a very active and influential individual player on the market,” concluded Stojković.

The event was also attended by the representatives of the State Aid Control Commission. The director of this institution, Andrijana Ćurčić, emphasized that the Commission has no jurisdiction in deciding which state aid is being granted, and that it is only a controller of the state aid award process. She pointed out that the State Aid Control Commission is ready for dialogue with the representatives of the civil society and other interested individuals on the subject of media competition protection.

Over 70% of registered media are national, and the future of the local media is not bright, it was noted at the meeting.

The meeting was finished with the conclusion that it is necessary to establish communication and cooperation between all competent state authorities and the media in order to improve the situation in this area and fulfill the conditions for the effective closure of Chapter 8.

The Inter-sectoral Group of Freedom of Expression and Media and the Working Group for Chapter 8 of the National Convention on the European Union was held on 30 March 2018. in the Human Rights House. The meeting was attended by over eighty journalists and media associations from all over Serbia, as well as the representatives of relevant state institutions.

This project is funded by the European Union through the small grants programme “Protecting Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in the Western Balkans” implemented by the Croatian Journalists’ Association as part of the regional project Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety, carried out through partnership of six regional journalists’ associations – Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS), Association of BH Journalists (BHJ), Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM).

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