The eleventh attack on journalists and media workers in Pioneer Park.

Although he approached the police officers at the entrance to the park, the police did not protect them from a group of aggressors located in the park. Despite several calls for help, the police did not respond, even though there are dozens of Ministry of Interior (MUP) officers present in and around the park at all times.

“While they were hitting us, I was shouting ‘police’ at the top of my lungs, but they suddenly vanished. We somehow managed to escape by jumping over a wall. I had a large cut below my lip that required stitches, as well as several bruises. When they knocked down the cameraman, they kicked him in the head. Then they ordered him to delete the footage from his mobile phone that showed them beating us,” Krstić stated for Danas.

This is the eleventh attack on journalists and media workers in Pioneer Park in the presence of police who either do not react or even assist the aggressors: the KTV TV crew has been attacked multiple times, Nemanja Šarović was detained, Insajder TV journalist Stefan Miljuš was attacked, Irena Stević was prevented from filming a report through threats of violence, a journalist from Istinomer was attacked, as well as journalists from N1, Nova S TV, and Kosseva.

This so-called “forbidden city,” situated between the Serbian National Assembly building and the Serbian Presidency building, and its violent inhabitants, produce daily attacks on journalists, thereby normalizing violence not only against journalists. None of the attacks or aggressors have been prosecuted, and they have even received a sort of assistance from the police.

ANEM demands that the attackers on Krstić be identified and punished and that the internal police control investigate why the present MUP representatives did not prevent the attack and protect the media workers on duty.