ANEM ALARM: Attacks on female and male journalists, violent disruptions to their work, telephone threats to journalists mentioning violence against their families.

A group of journalists, visibly marked by their press vests, was reporting from the plateau in front of the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad when they were violently attacked by a group of aggressors organized by the SNS, who gathered in front of the theater. Žarko Bogosavljević, a journalist for the Razglas News portal and one of the most attacked journalists in the past year, having experienced over 30 physical assaults, was prevented from filming and moving freely. Ultimately, he was cornered against a wall and struck in the back. One of the assailants attempted to snatch his phone, hitting it out of his hand while multiple individuals stomped on him as he lay on the ground.

Brankica Matić from the Storyteller portal and Milica Stevanović, a collaborator from the University Department, were also roughly shoved aside, and the N1 television crew was obstructed in their work, causing visible distress among all present, thereby committing a criminal act of violent behavior at a sports event or public gathering. The attack followed after the journalists filmed a brutal, aggressive, and unprovoked assault by the same group of aggressors on students, who were injured in the process.

The attack on Žarko Bogosavljević has been reported to the relevant prosecutor's office, and the faces of the attackers are clearly visible in the footage, with some already identified. We expect the immediate apprehension and prosecution of the assailants.

Journalists and other media workers in Novi Sad are particularly targeted by aggressors, as they are regularly physically attacked and harassed during almost every protest, regardless of how peaceful it may be, including incidents involving police officers. Therefore, it is extremely important for the prosecutor's office to be much more efficient in prosecuting these cases.

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After threats, obstruction of work, insults, and sexist and misogynistic remarks directed at journalist Dejana Cvetković during the coverage of protests in Surdulica, Mihajlo Stojković, editor of the InfoVranjske portal (who reported on the threats), received a call from an unknown number, during which he was subjected to profanity, and an unknown voice stated that he and Dejana Cvetković "need to..." and that he "should have his child killed, so he can see how it feels."

This brutal threat has been reported to the contact points in the prosecutor's office and the police, with a request to identify the person who made the threats and to prosecute that individual.

“We demand that these physical attacks, threats, and obstructions against journalists be prosecuted as soon as possible, that the perpetrators be convicted, and that the rhetoric of hate speech and incitement that endangers the safety of journalists be stopped. In all these dramatic situations, journalists have reported extremely professionally and demonstrated strong mutual solidarity,” stated Veran Matić, coordinator of the Safe Line for reporting threats and attacks on journalists of ANEM and member of the Permanent Working Group for Journalist Safety.

Attached is the footage of the attack, authored by Žarko Bogosavljević, which may be used.

https://we.tl/t-pN5EKOXRoB

Association of Independent Electronic Media ANEM