UNS: In the first five months of this year, 17 cases of threats against journalists were recorded, which is an increase compared to last year.

The UNS database recorded eight insults and three attacks on property – the same as last year.

However, there were fewer threats recorded – 13 compared to last year's 18, as well as cases of media discrimination – four compared to 15 last year.

Physical attacks in the presence of police with no response

In this period, the UNS recorded the highest number of physical attacks in the last five years.

Just in May, there were five physical attacks, all of which occurred at gatherings of the Serbian Progressive Party.

Last week at an SNS gathering in Jelašnica, a team from N1 television and journalist Miljko Stojanović from “Glas Zaječara” were attacked.

As N1 journalist Miodrag Sovilj told UNS, unknown men followed him and Stojanović while they were reporting, and one of them snatched the phone from Stojanović's hand.

“We entered an unprotected area, filmed the coverage, and asked people why they wanted to be in Jelašnica that day and if they knew that local elections would soon be held. While colleague Miljko Stojanović was doing a live broadcast, one of the people following them took his phone and put it in his pocket,” added Sovilj.

Sovilj stated that he demanded the man return the phone to Stojanović, while another person struck the N1 cameraman on the arm.

“The man who took the phone told my colleague: ‘You are traitors of this country and you are not welcome. Get out of here.’ He emphasized: ‘This is my request for now.’ At that moment, the N1 cameraman next to me lifted his camera to record what was happening. Another person hit him on the arm,” said Sovilj.

That area, as Sovilj and Stojanović noted, was secured by a large number of police officers. However, when they approached one of them and explained what was happening, he did not react.

Following this attack, Stojanović noted, a targeting campaign ensued on the Facebook page “Zaječarski blok.”

At the SNS gathering in Niš, which was held on May 17, journalist Tamara Radovanović from Južne vesti and the team from Nova S television were attacked.

As Radovanović told UNS, she was attacked while filming citizens who were booing buses transporting people who had attended the rally.

“There was also a debate among some people, whom I assume were participants of the SNS gathering, with the police, when an unknown man approached me and pushed my hand, trying to knock the phone out of my hand,” said Radovanović.

She stated that this attack occurred in plain sight of a plainclothes police officer.

“He moved me to the other side of the street and told me not to ‘create tension.’ Soon after, I left with my colleagues,” explained Radovanović.

The same was the response of the police, according to TV Nova S correspondent Ivana Marković and this station's cameraman Dejan Marković, when they were attacked that day.

Two unknown men attacked them while they were reporting from the International Assembly and were in front of the metal fence that divided King Milan Square from the participants of the gathering.

The present men, as they noted, pushed them and shouted at them through a megaphone.

On the other hand, journalist Stefan Miljuš was attacked while reporting from a gathering at Nikola Pašić Square on May 1 - International Workers' Day.

As Insajder reported, Miljuš had recorded with his phone an incident in which a group of citizens attacked military veterans passing through the Square before he was attacked. When he noticed that an unknown man in a cap was filming him, Miljuš started filming him.

As seen in the footage published by Insajder, Miljuš asked the unknown man why he was filming him, to which the man replied that “it would be better for him to run away.”

After that, the man hit Miljuš twice on the arm, trying to knock the phone out of his hand with which he was filming.

Dismissals as a form of censorship

This year has also been marked by dismissals that female journalists, as they emphasize, received for supporting student protests on social media.

Weekend edition editor of “Politika” Sandra Gucijan and Chronicle editor Dorotea Čarnić were informed that after more than 20 years of service, by the decision of the owner of this publication Boban Rajić, they were declared surplus employees.

As they noted, the management did not explain this decision.

Recall that, as Dorotea Čarnić told UNS, she and her colleague Gucijan believe that the dismissal has a political background, considering that both “have not hidden their support for students since the collapse of the awning and the beginning of student protests.”

“The job in the chronicle also involves dealing with delicate topics such as the collapse of the awning, sound cannons, attacks on students, corruption, crime... I have not always agreed with the editorial policy in recent months, as I did not want to participate in protecting those responsible for serious criminal acts with my writing and editing in any way. My political views could not harm the newspaper 'Politika' in any way, nor did they affect my professionalism,” Čarnić stated to UNS at that time.

Gucijan emphasized to UNS that this is the first time such dismissals have occurred in “Politika” and noted that journalists from “Politika” had never before experienced such sudden and immediate dismissals.

Previously, journalist of “Večernje novosti” Vojislava Crnjanski Spasojević, as she stated, received her dismissal the day after posting a photo from the protests in front of the Constitutional Court on her Instagram profile.

Police detaining journalists covering events

Some journalists who reported from events were detained, and some of them were held in police custody. Journalist Darko Gligorijević from Zumer was detained by the police the day after he reported from the Student City. The police, as he stated, entered the editorial office and took him as a witness, and then kept him as a suspect for disturbing public order and peace.

Gligorijević is the author of footage with Miloš Pavlović, which was published on Zumer the night before.

“In these recordings, it can be seen that Miloš Pavlović was hit but was able to walk,” said Arsić.

The police also detained Australian SBS Radio correspondent Nikola Doderović in Niš on May 17 while he was reporting.

That day, Doderović told UNS that he was with a student from the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš when six or seven members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stopped them at King Milan Square.

“They asked for our IDs and press credentials, and then took us for questioning. They were cooperative, asking us what we were doing and why we came to film. We were held for questioning for more than an hour and a half, which was unnecessary,” Doderović said.