Injured representatives of Foneta and N1 during the police intervention following the protests in Belgrade.

Darko Pavlović, a cameraman for the FoNet News Agency, was struck several times in the back and sprayed with pepper spray last night during a police intervention at the intersection near London in downtown Belgrade. In an attempt to reach the newsroom on Kralja Milana Street after a student protest at Slavija, Pavlović found his passage blocked by a police cordon at the intersection around 9:30 PM.

When he took a detour via Kneza Miloša Street, just a few meters later, the police began pushing the protesters down the hill in his direction. With his press credentials clearly displayed, Pavlović turned around, holding his camera, to record the police intervention and the chaos that ensued, but was engulfed in a cloud of tear gas.

Blinded and suffering from severe pain in his eyes, he instinctively turned around, only to be struck several times in the back by the advancing cordon, but fortunately suffered no serious injuries thanks to his camera bag containing equipment and a tripod. With the help of colleagues, he received first aid in a medical vehicle on Kralja Milana Street.

Jovan Pavlović, the organizer and assistant cameraman for N1, was struck with a baton by a police officer last night during the protest in Belgrade while lying on the ground in a yellow press vest, simultaneously identifying himself as a journalist. The incident occurred on Kneza Miloša Street after citizens had allowed an ambulance to pass, but the police refused to do the same and began pushing the gathered crowd towards the intersection with Kralja Milana.

“In that crowd, I was shoved from behind, stumbled, and fell to the ground. The police cordon began to surround me, but the third or fourth gendarme in line, although he had already passed me, took three or four steps back and while I was lying on the ground and identifying myself as a journalist, he struck me twice with a baton in the left shoulder area,” said Pavlović.

According to the medical report issued by the Clinical Center of Serbia, Pavlović sustained a contusion to the shoulder area of his left arm. Doctors noted intense pain in the shoulder and upper arm and prescribed rest, immobilization of the arm, and analgesic and local therapy.

N1 is urgently seeking an explanation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and expects the relevant authorities to identify the police officer involved and explain why force was used against a clearly marked member of the media team who posed no threat.

A previously unknown young man obstructed reporters from several media outlets, including N1, Insajder, Newsmax Balkans, Al Jazeera Balkans, FoNet, and Danas, who were covering a gathering of government supporters in front of the National Assembly.

FoNet reports that police officers responsible for public order and peace removed this man from the area near Pionirski Park, and the police only reacted after Veran Matić, a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, intervened.

Source: FoNet / N1