ANEM ALARM: Attacks and disruptions against journalists from KTV, Insajder, and Pazovačka.rs

Following the conclusion of the SNS supporters' gathering in front of the National Assembly of Serbia, a team from Zrenjanin's KTV and Nemanja Šarović were attacked by several individuals returning from the event. They initially began to insult the crew, struck Šarović on the arm, kicked the microphone into the street, which fell during the incident, and then threw pyrotechnic devices in the direction of the journalists.

As seen in the recordings, a police cordon was standing nearby, yet despite the shouts from citizens and fellow journalists, they did not react to the clear violence and disturbance of public order.

The behavior of the police—ranging from their failure to respond to attacks on media representatives present, physical assaults on journalists, to the lack of concrete actions to investigate and sanction violence against media workers—is unacceptable.

Despite repeated appeals from media and journalist associations, police conduct remains unchanged; on the contrary, there is a constant increase in inaction and repression, even though it is their obligation to enable professional work for journalists and to protect them.

Worrying figures have been highlighted multiple times by the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), which maintains a database of attacks on journalists, as well as by the international organization Reporters Without Borders. The European Commission, in its recently published report on Serbia's progress, notes a drastic trend in the increase of threats to journalists' safety.

Additionally, during the SNS gathering in Belgrade, there was a recorded incident of interference with the work of Insajder TV reporter Stefan Miljuš. While the journalist was professionally interviewing one of the participants, two unknown men approached him, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him aside. He told them not to hold him tightly and to let him reach his cameraman, insisting that they introduce themselves, which they did not do. When he asked if they would let him pass, they told him: “Don’t make a pointless problem. Just stand there.”

Throughout the day, journalist Stefana Budimirović from the Pazovačke.rs portal, while reporting on the departure of SNS members from Stara Pazova to the support gathering in Belgrade, was subjected to verbal and physical assaults by supporters of the ruling party, who tried to prevent her from doing her job. Although she identified herself as a journalist, she reported to ANEM that she experienced being pushed from behind, insulted, and yelled at not to film.

This kind of behavior from citizens towards journalists is a direct consequence of the police's inaction in such and similar situations, which, along with incendiary rhetoric and targeting of the media by the highest state officials, directly endangers the safety of female and male journalists, especially those reporting from protests held in public spaces.

It is also concerning that the relevant Minister of Information and Telecommunications remains silent and ignores the interference with media during the performance of their professional duties and the endangerment of journalists' safety. We remind the minister that one of the main roles of journalism, according to all definitions and academic textbooks, is to provide oversight of the government, to criticize occurrences and events in the state and society, and that this is one of the foundations of democracy and the rule of law in the civilized world.

ANEM calls on journalists, both male and female, and media representatives to regularly report any kind of threats to their safety while performing their work. All journalists have access to a free phone number and a direct line from ANEM at 0800 100 115, where media representatives can receive explanations regarding the legal treatment of offenses and the procedures that should be initiated to report threats to safety to the relevant institutions, police, and prosecution.

Veran Matić, President of the Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and operator on the Safe Line for Journalists 0800 100 115

The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is being implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia.

The OSCE Mission in Serbia has supported ANEM's project "24/7 SOS helpline for assistance to journalists and other endangered media workers" as part of the EU-funded project "Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia."