Case of Police Brutality: Physical Violence Against Photojournalist Aleksa Stanković

Stanković is widely known to the public as the author of a recording that refuted the claims of top state officials, led by the President of the Republic of Serbia, that during the dismantling of the barricade at the protest in front of the RTS building (March 11, 2025), a police officer in civilian clothing was severely injured by students who allegedly hit him with a fist. In Stanković's recording, the moment when a member of the Gendarmerie strikes the civilian police officer can be seen.

In an interview with a journalist from the portal Cenzolovka, Stanković described the violence he suffered due to the recording of vulgar comments made about women by police officers. When the police began to dismantle the barricade and chase citizens, Stanković was at the intersection of Roosevelt Street and Queen Maria Street.

After dispersing the protesters, three police officers in riot gear approached him while he was calmly standing with a press vest on and a camera around his neck. It must have been clear to the police officers that they were confronting a media worker, considering that the photographer had a total of four visible press badges.

When they approached him, Stanković stepped back. One of the police officers stepped on him and demanded that he identify himself and stop recording. Stanković calmly stated his name and surname, informed them that he was a media worker, and showed them the press card hanging around his neck. All of this was recorded until the moment he was instructed to cease filming. After being told to come with them, Stanković was pulled into a police van.

One of the police officers commented that Stanković had created a huge problem with the recording, then slapped him. He demanded that Stanković not record or photograph the police officers. Stanković's response was that it was his duty to inform the public. He tried to explain that the officer should not behave that way and that what he was doing was unwise. After that, the officer reacted aggressively, and the threats continued.

A police officer without a mask then entered the van. He ordered Stanković to delete the photographs. When he refused to comply with the order, he was hit in the head. According to Stanković, the police officers—one wearing a mask and the other without—alternately slapped him. The photographer warned them that they could face consequences for such behavior. The police officers simply ordered him to delete the recordings. Stanković took the card out of the camera, and the police officer broke it.

The door of the van was opened by a police officer in riot gear. Stanković attempted to talk to him as well, but that attempt was also unsuccessful. The officer was instructed to close the door. A new demand made to Stanković was to delete his profiles on social media platforms Instagram and Facebook. Realizing that the police would not be able to stay there much longer, Stanković delayed the moment of deletion.

All the while, he repeated that he was a journalist and did not want to delete the recordings. The masked police officer began to reach for his baton. Stanković requested that they call one of his colleagues because, as he told them, he did not know how to delete the accounts. The police officers continued to threaten and intimidate him. One of them took his phone, checked his Instagram profile, and told him to restore the phone to factory settings. When he had the phone back, as the order was for him to perform the factory reset himself, Stanković seized the opportunity and locked his phone. At that moment, the police officer grabbed him by the head and began to slam it against the window. Stanković counted at least ten such blows.

Finally, the officer standing outside the van opened the door and said they had to leave. Stanković exited and followed him. He handed the officer his ID, and the officer replied that he did not want to see him again.

From that moment on, Stanković was free. He felt that the abuse lasted about ten minutes. In addition to the physical violence he suffered, Stanković's equipment was also damaged.

In a show of support for their colleague, students gathered on the plateau in front of the Faculty of Philosophy building.

Journalistic and media associations sharply condemned the brutal and unlawful actions of the police officers and demanded a swift and thorough investigation and prosecution of all participants in the disputed event.

**This text is part of ANEM’s [monitoring of the media scene in Serbia for July 2025](https://anem.org.rs/sr/strane/medijska-scena-srbije-u-julu-2025).**