On June 18, Miljko Stojanović, a reporter for the Voice of Zaječar news site, was verbally threatened for wanting to take part in one of the Serbian Progressive Party’s public campaign events. The journalist was threatened by a local politician who said that if he attended the event, he would be “beaten.” The incident was witnessed by several police officers who did not respond.
On June 21, on the day of the elections, journalist Nikola Mitić and photojournalist Matija Gačić, members of the Južne vesti news site, were threatened while reporting on an event right in front of one of the polling stations. The unknown attacker threatened the photojournalist with “breaking her legs” if she did not delete the shots from her camera.
On the same day, Saša Mikić, a journalist for Dečiji Internet Radio, was physically attacked when he wanted to interview the chairman of the polling board at one of the polling stations in Kikinda. Mikić was pushed out of the building and then attacked by three individuals. According to witnesses, two of them were holding him down and the third one hit him in the face. The incident was reported to the police and the journalist required treatment for injuries.
On July 8, police mistreated Žikica Stevanović, a member of the Beta news agency, while he was covering the protests in front of the parliament in Belgrade. The reporter made it clear to the police that he was only doing his job and presented his press ID. However, several police officers attacked him pushing him to the ground, and continued to punch and kick the already bleeding man.
On the same day, police officers also attacked Marko Radonjić, as well as Milica Božinović and Nataša Latković, all three journalists of www.nova.rs. Božinović’s phone was knocked out of his hand with a police baton, and Latković’s press ID was thrown away.
The camera of RTV Serbia’s crew from Novi Sad was broken by strangers, and the hand of cameraman Lazar Vukadinović was injured. Ivan Stambolić, a cameraman on public service television in Niš, was hit in the head with a bottle.
The cases listed above prove that the situation of the press and the state of the freedom of the press in Serbia has further deteriorated since last April’s report by Reporters Without Borders. Journalists are threatened, subjected to atrocities and, in many cases, physically mistreated – by police officers, overzealous party soldiers, and lunatic protesters alike. Without journalists being able to work freely and safely, there is no freedom of the press, and without freedom of the press, there is no democracy.
The free and safe work of journalists can be only ensured effectively by strict and consistent action of the relevant authorities. We therefore call on the Serbian authorities to carry out the necessary investigations in each of the cases listed above, obtain the necessary evidence, prosecute the alleged perpetrators, and inform the public about the outcome.
