ANEM alarm: Police attacked journalists in front of the Novi Sad court.
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemns the police attack on journalists during the citizens' protests and the obstruction of media reporting in front of the building housing the courts and prosecutor's offices in Novi Sad.
During this morning's protest blockade of the Novi Sad courthouse, the police at one point dispersed the citizens gathered in front of the main entrance to allow employees to enter the court. During the police action, N1 journalist Lea Apro and Razglas news journalist Žarko Bogosavljević were repeatedly struck with shields and hands despite their press badges and identification indicating they were journalists.
Žarko Bogosavljević shouted, “Journalist! What are you doing? You cannot hit a journalist!” and in the recordings, journalist Apro can clearly be heard stating that she is a journalist.
This is just one in a series of attacks on media representatives in Novi Sad over the past few months, with more than 30 attacks documented against Žarko Bogosavljević alone.
ANEM reminds that journalists who report daily from protests, from the front lines of events, are subjected to police violence, intimidation from ruling party security, private security of public institutions, and face constant threats and insults, including being sprayed with pepper spray.
We once again call on the relevant authorities in the police to enforce strict adherence to the law and to allow journalists to cover events of public importance without obstruction, including police interventions.
It is unacceptable for journalists covering protests to be struck and otherwise impeded from doing their job during numerous police interventions.
*Veran Matić, President of the ANEM Management Board 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 Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with support from the European Union and the Balkan Democracy Fund.*
