Announcements

During the peaceful monitoring of the protest, journalist Vuk Cvijić was standing last night with colleagues near the General Staff in Belgrade when a uniformed police officer, equipped for crowd control, approached him from behind and sprayed him with a chemical agent on the neck.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemns the threats received on social media by journalist Sanja Ignjatović Eker, a long-time correspondent for TV Nova from Novi Sad. A criminal complaint has been filed with the High-Tech Crime Prosecutor's Office against the individual who threatened the journalist for the criminal offense of endangering safety.

A group of journalists reporting from the protest in downtown Belgrade on Thursday, August 14, was targeted by an assault, insults, and threats from a group of thugs who threw pyrotechnic devices at the demonstrators throughout the evening.

Journalistic and media organizations from Serbia and the region strongly condemn the continuous attacks on journalists and media workers during coverage of events of public importance, as well as the brutal assaults by police officers. These organizations demand that the police and all citizens stop attacking, threatening, and intimidating journalists and media workers, and ensure they can work under normal and safe conditions.

"When will the police prevent the firing of pyrotechnic devices at citizens? Look, I have been injured," asked Marko Miletić, the chief and responsible editor of the Mašina portal, multiple times in a dramatic recording from Vrbas – but he received no answer.

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemn the latest threats against the editorial team of the daily newspaper "Danas," which followed the publication of a caricature by Predrag Koraksić Koraks, as well as the physical attack on Marko Dragoslavić, which occurred while he was photographing a building where construction work is prohibited.

A group of bullies, wearing recognizable black shirts and caps, affiliated with the ruling party, appeared at student and civic protests with the aim of violently preventing them. They obstructed the N1 television team – journalist Jelena Mirković and cameraman Denijal Dabić – during their coverage of the event in Vrbas.

A colleague who has been receiving threats and disturbing messages daily for the past ten years – which are becoming increasingly brutal, mirroring the rhetoric of government representatives and the ruling party – is completely unprotected. There is no preventive mechanism or effective response from the judicial system.

During the protest in front of the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party in New Belgrade, journalist Darko Simić from the Political Globe of Serbia reported live from the scene. At one point, from a group of gathered members and supporters of the SNS, one of the attendees assaulted Simić and physically attacked him. The entire incident was recorded on camera – both by Simić's camera and by the cameras of other journalists present.