The International and European Federations of Journalists have called on the police in Serbia to immediately stop the violence against journalists and to protect them while they are reporting on conflicts at protests.
The General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Anthony Bellanger stated that the violence and intimidation are not isolated incidents but are part of a deliberate campaign whose goal is “the silencing of journalists who are simply doing their job.”
“This must not be allowed. We demand that the police stop the violence against journalists and that they protect them. When journalists are attacked or threatened, it is an attack on democracy itself,” said Bellanger.
The General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Ricardo Gutiérrez said that this association with its partners in Serbia is documenting all cases of violence against journalists, that the perpetrators have been identified, and that they will be held accountable.
“It is clear that the Serbian authorities are actively involved in the brutal repression of journalists who are only trying to do their job,” said Gutiérrez.
The statement says that the IFJ and EFJ are joining the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS) and the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS-NUNS), in the call for the police “to immediately stop the violence against journalists and to protect them while they are reporting on conflicts between rival groups of demonstrators in Serbia,” adding that the months-long anti-government demonstrations have turned into street violence.
The IFJ recalls that during the protests on August 14 in front of the General Staff building, supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party went towards journalists who found themselves between two opposing sides.
“Considering that there was no police cordon placed between the journalists and the SNS supporters, the SNS supporters ran towards the journalists in an organized manner and with the intention of attacking and intimidating them, insulting them,” the statement published on the IFJ website on August 18 says.
The statement also recalls the case when plainclothes police officers in Novi Sad prevented the journalist of the Zoomer portal Marina Nenadović from recording the arrest and mistreatment of a citizen by the police, as well as when members of the police brigade mistreated a photojournalist in New Belgrade for photographing the police.
The statement also points to the threats received by the correspondent of TV Nova from Novi Sad Sanja Ignjatović Eker and the journalists of TV N1 Žaklina Tatalović and Mladen Savatović.
“In recent days, the highest state officials, with the support of pro-government tabloids, have intensified a coordinated campaign against N1 and Nova (United Media), calling these networks ‘media poisoners’ and even ‘terrorist organizations’,” the statement says.
The IFJ and EFJ have called on the judicial authorities of Serbia to initiate the necessary legal proceedings and on high state officials to stop the campaigns of slandering journalists.
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Source: N1; Photo: ATAImages