SJ: We demand an urgent court ruling for the attacks on journalists

On 16^th February while filming reportage from the elementary school “Naim Frasheri” in the area of Gostivar, one person verbally and then physically attacked the journalist Nevri Ademi and cameraman Zbulim Maksuti. According to the journalist Nevri Ademi, B.E. first started with verbal insults and threats, and then grabbed a journalist by the head and pushed him down the school stairs. Ademi added: “he went down to the schoolyard and started chasing us with an axe. We quickly got in the car and headed to the police station to report the attack, and the attacker followed us all the time with his car to the village of Negotino, Gostivar”. Police reacted swiftly and arrested the perpetrator.

Dragan Sekulovski, Executive Director of Journalists Association of Macedonia, stated that this is one of the most serious attack that AJM has recorded lately and that a swift closure of the case is a must. “Such aggressive attacks on journalist crews should be immediately sanctioned by judicial authorities in attempt to prevent future similar situations in which journalists and camera operators might be harmed”, said Sekulovski.

SafeJournalists Network, representing more than 8,200 media professionals in the Western Balkans, stands in solidarity with colleges form North Macedonia and strongly condemn this attack. We welcome the fact that the authorities reacted swiftly and expect full transparency from the authorities about this case. We hope that the authorities will conduct the entire procedure swiftly and punish the preparator adequately.

SafeJournalists Network will inform all relevant national and international stakeholders about this case.

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

Skopje – Belgrade – Podgorica – Pristina – Sarajevo – Zagreb, February 17, 2022

Association of Journalists of Kosovo

Association of Journalists of Macedonia

BH Journalists Association

Croatian Journalists’ Association

Independent Journalists Association of Serbia

Trade Union of Media of Montenegro