06. 09. 2003

TV Devic cameraman attacked

SMEDEREVSAK PALANKA, September 6, 2003 – Security guards from the Smederevska Palanka Municipal Council yesterday barred a TV Devic crew from attending a sitting of the local assembly. The company’s cameraman, Zoran Prica, was injured in a fight which ensued. TV Devic claims that the issue is one of arbitrary decisions by Mayor Radoslav Ljubisavljevic. Journalist Aleksandra Nestorov told Beta that a fight erupted in front of the council chamber because security refused to allow her crew to enter. She claimed that guards even attacked a number of councillors who attempted to escort the crew into the chamber. The mayor then asked the councillors to vote on whether the sitting should be closed, and they ruled that the crew should be permitted inside, despite the mayor’s majority on the council.