A Zoomer journalist on trial for "screaming" at a protest against Miloš Pavlović: "Pure intimidation."
"I am not guilty; I was just doing my job," said Darko Gligorijević, a journalist from the Zoomer portal, as he defended himself today before the misdemeanor judge. He was arrested last June during a protest gathering in the Students' City.
He is accused of “disturbing public order and peace with shouting and noise” while students were protesting against Miloš Pavlović, the leader of the so-called students who wish to learn.
Gligorijević stated that he was on a working, reporting assignment, just like any other journalist would be.
His attorney believes that the police were misused that evening and that there is no evidence that Gligorijević did what he is accused of.
"This is pure intimidation. After that, I received threats; there were comments on Twitter like - this is a warning for you, next time you won't get away with it, and so on. My message is - you will not intimidate me, and I will not allow you to obstruct me in performing my journalistic duties," Gligorijević told reporters after the hearing.
After giving a statement before the judge of the Misdemeanor Court, he also called for solidarity with colleagues and media professionals who are under threat.
"Over the past 14 years, we have seen a progression of SLAPP lawsuits. We started with civil suits, moved to criminal charges, and today, colleagues from Krik are even facing prison sentences. However, what is happening to me is nothing compared to what our colleague Vuk Cvijić is experiencing. It seems to me that the public has somewhat swept this under the rug, and we really must not allow what Vuk Cvijić is enduring to remain ignored and unspoken. This must be our main topic every day," Gligorijević emphasized.
In response to Gligorijević's arrest and the initiation of proceedings against him, journalistic associations, including the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), reacted with condemnation and the question - why was the journalist detained if this is a misdemeanor?
NUNS also reacted, stating that this is an unlawful and unacceptable detention of a journalist.
Source: ANEM / N1
