NUNS: The attack on journalist Jelena Stojković requires an urgent response from the relevant authorities.
The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) strongly condemns the attack on the correspondent of the daily newspaper Večernje novosti, Jelena Stojković, which occurred yesterday while she was reporting on the fire at the Meteris landfill near Vranje.
According to the InfoVranjske portal, Stojković was carrying out her journalistic assignment when the director of JKP "Komrad" from Vranje, Zoran Dimitrijević, arrived at the scene. He initially told her that "recording is prohibited," and then physically assaulted the journalist, grabbing her by the arm and taking away her mobile phone with which she was recording video material.
As reported by InfoVranjske, the police have been notified of the incident and have taken statements from witnesses who confirmed the attack on journalist Stojković.
NUNS reminds that physical assaults on journalists, as well as the confiscation of their equipment, are serious criminal offenses and direct attacks on media freedom. The attack carries particular weight and danger as it came from a local official. Such behavior is unacceptable and must be sanctioned to prevent further escalation of violence against journalists and to create conditions for their safe work.
Journalists are not only unprotected by public authorities, but they also face direct attacks of all kinds coming from all levels of government.
We remind public officials that they are accountable to the citizens who pay them for their work. Therefore, they must respond to journalists' questions and not physically assault them or obstruct their efforts to inform the public about matters of significant importance, especially when the health and property of citizens, as in this case, are at risk. Public officials who abuse their positions must be held particularly accountable.
We call on the relevant institutions that have been informed of the attack to urgently and thoroughly investigate this incident, prosecute the attacker, and ensure protection for journalists reporting in the public interest.
*Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS)*
*Belgrade, July 22, 2025.*
Text transferred from the portal [NUNS](https://nuns.rs/nuns-napad-na-novinarku-jelenu-stojkovic-zahteva-hitnu-reakciju-nadleznih-organa/).
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