Gavrilo Andrić, photographer: I have no other word – the police in Loznica were disgusting.
They were rude, there were insults. They were truly disgusting towards both Kokanović's daughter and his wife. I have no other words to describe it. There were moments when I thought they would hit me, says Gavrilo Andrić, a photographer who was detained by the police in Loznica for capturing the brutal treatment of the daughter of activist Zlatko Kokanović.
“I have never seen this level of unprofessionalism, where police officers have a short fuse, respond to everything with insults, and display completely unempathetic behavior,” describes photojournalist Gavrilo Andrić in an interview with Cenzolovka, referring to his arrest yesterday in Loznica after he recorded brutal police violence against the daughter of activist and farmer Zlatko Kokanović.
The police violence occurred when citizens, activists, and the family of the farmer gathered near the courthouse. When the police vehicle with Kokanović drove out of the courthouse yard, Gavrilo Andrić followed it to take photos. The police arrested him.
Andrić emphasizes to Cenzolovka that the new aspect is the level of insults from the police and their exceptional unprofessionalism towards everyone.
They were offended that their behavior was recorded
“They were rude, disrespectful, and there were insults. They were truly repugnant towards both the daughter and the wife. I have no other words to describe it. This level of unprofessionalism, where police officers have a short fuse and respond to everything with insults and completely unempathetic behavior, I have never seen before. I believe they were quite offended that their behavior was recorded and documented. We have footage showing how they hit and pushed and how they treated the daughter of Zlatko Kokanović,” Andrić emphasizes, explaining:
“Later, when I ran to take photos, I passed by a traffic police officer. There was no cordon, just a traffic officer at the intersection. He first tried to accuse me of hitting him, and when it became clear that it could be proven I hadn’t hit him, he then claimed I insulted him. He was extremely unnecessarily rude, even though I immediately provided him with my ID.”
Police intimidation has reached a new level at the police station.
“One or two police officers wanted to take my devices to delete the recordings. That didn’t happen because neither the camera nor the phone were with me. They were disappointed. At one point, I thought they would hit me. There was all sorts of behavior. Two of them rushed in, practically invading my personal space… I don’t know what would have happened if I had caused a bigger problem. But that moment where the police take on the role of punishment is ridiculous,” Andrić states, adding:
“When they failed to set me up for assaulting an official, they switched to a misdemeanor, that is, insults. I had some trouble getting a lawyer. I didn’t know the number by heart, and one police officer, extremely impolite, said he didn’t care that I didn’t have a lawyer and that was that: I would give a statement without a lawyer then. However, in the meantime, one of the neighborhood lawyers appeared.”
Andrić has been documenting violence on the streets for a year and a half and has already experienced physical attacks from the police. Does he believe his arrest was planned?
“I think it was, because one of the police officers in the station showed me my photo and commented that they had already been in the mindset that I was the one who would cause a problem – something along those lines. Interestingly, some police officers were correct, but two or three were…”
He rates the entire experience in Loznica as extremely unpleasant.
“Especially since I didn’t offer any resistance; I cooperated with them and was polite when they arrested me. The previous two times, the police were significantly more professional than now.”
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WE PLAY CHESS AND WE WILL WIN
After the experience in Loznica, he says he will work on training his behavior model.
“It is what it is; we play chess. I will think of how to adapt, observe, and learn. It doesn’t mean we should get used to it; it just means we need to know the rules of the game. It’s not fair, it’s not always correct and nice, but some people actually go through much worse than us who take photos. We play chess and we will win!”
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Attacked eight times last year
Gavrilo Andrić is one of the most attacked photojournalists during protests in the last year and a half. According to data from the Database of Attacks on Journalists of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia, he was attacked eight times in 2025: five times in Belgrade, and once each in Kosjerić, Novi Sad, and Negotin.
Since the beginning of 2026, he was attacked once in January, and last month during protests in New Belgrade, the police obstructed him twice.
The first time, while he was photographing, police officers pushed him without any explanation, even though he had a clearly displayed press ID.
Later, while he was recording police actions during the arrest of a demonstrator, a member of the Gendarmerie physically assaulted Gavrilo Andrić. After he explained that he was there to report, he also asked the gendarme for identification. The police officer cursed at him.
Source: Cenzolovka
