ANEM ALARM: The police must urgently identify and apprehend the individuals who assaulted the journalist from Foneta.

According to Fonet, unknown individuals who came from the tent settlement at Nikola Pašić Square attacked journalist Marko Čonjagić from the FoNet news agency last night around 11 PM near the construction site on Kosovska Street while he was reporting from a rally in support of Dijana Hrki, the mother of Stefan Hrki, who died in the collapse of a canopy in Novi Sad.

Four men, three of whom were masked, initially attempted to pull the FoNet reporter, who was clearly identifiable in a fluorescent vest marked "press," into a fenced area. When this failed, they struck him, knocked him down, and kicked him while he was on the ground.

Citizens who witnessed the attack called the police for help for the assaulted journalist. A member of the Gendarmerie approached, to whom Čonjagić stated that he was just passing by when he was attacked. The gendarme told him to move along.

The FoNet reporter then approached plainclothes police officers nearby and requested that they document the incident, but they directed him to the Stari Grad police station, explaining that they were dealing with another case.

The FoNet news agency strongly condemned the attack on its reporter who was on duty and demands that the relevant authorities, the police, and the prosecution take decisive action against the assailants and protect journalists reporting from public gatherings.

ANEM assesses that such cases of attacks on journalists are unacceptable and must not go unpunished, as an attack on one journalist represents an attack on journalism as a whole and on press freedom in Serbia.

The Republic of Serbia, if it advocates for media freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, must send a clear message that such incidents are not acceptable in a civilized society and that anyone who attacks journalists on duty must be appropriately sanctioned.

We remind once again that 2025 is a record year for the number of threats, pressures, and physical attacks on media representatives, which continue precisely due to impunity and the unresolved cases directed at journalists, sending a direct message to the assailants that they can act as they please.

ANEM calls on the highest state officials to condemn such brutal attacks on journalists and to urgently prosecute all attackers on the FoNet journalist and two other media representatives.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is 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 Balkan Democracy Fund 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 Hotline for Assistance to Journalists and Other Vulnerable Media Workers," as part of the EU-funded project "Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia."