ANEM alarm: The Brutal Detention of Luka Pešić – An Attempt to Intimidate Reporters Covering the Protests
Student Luka Pešić is reporting as a freelance journalist for the student pages of the faculty in blockade, with a press accreditation from the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia. After the protests concluded on Sunday evening , he was unjustly pursued first by unidentified individuals, and then by police officers equipped for breaking up demonstrations. They violently threw him to the ground while attempting to seize his phone, which he managed to pass to friends, who shouted to the police that Luka had press accreditation.
Despite this, without reason, a few of them brutally pressed him against the asphalt and restrained him. At the police station, his camera was confiscated and taken to an adjacent room, even though it should not have been examined without a warrant. When he insisted on being allowed to call a lawyer, the police officers clearly misinformed him that he had no right to do so.
Police violence during protests cannot be concealed by attacking journalists, arrests, and confiscating recording equipment. It cannot be prevented by either misdemeanor or criminal charges. A new generation of reporters has emerged over the past ten months, and they are the ones who contribute the most to ensuring that all important events and protests are covered properly.
The torture of Aleksa Stanković by the police, the attacks on Gavrilo Andrić, female and male journalists, the confiscation of equipment from the Blokada info channel, are unacceptable, as is the impunity for the abuse of power. The most important thing is that, thanks to solidarity and professional work, violations of the law will be documented and prosecuted when the conditions allow for it.
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) once again calls on the authorities to stop using force against journalists, as well as citizens and students at peaceful protests.
ANEM also appeals to the relevant authorities to initiate an internal review and identify all officials and civilians who acted against Luka Pešić, as well as to sanction all those responsible for excessive force and abuse of power.
Veran Matić, President of the Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists
The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Balkan Democracy Fund.
