Veran Matić: These are the two worst years in the last 25 years; everyone has failed in the case of the attack on the N1 team.

"What we have noticed over the past two years is a gradual path into this spiral of violence that will obviously intensify. This is not the maximum," stated Veran Matić on the show "Dan uživo" on TV N1.

He added that last year they first noticed "an anomaly in police behavior."

"Of the 62 open cases in public prosecutor's offices, the police did not respond to the prosecutor's offices with collected information in 34 instances, and there were no investigations. This has never happened before. Last year, only one case ended with a final verdict; in the previous year, there were 13, and in 2019, there were 20. We saw that police behavior is not only related to protests; it escalates with protests. First, you have non-response, then you have non-response to the violence that is happening against journalists and citizens, and then the police themselves conduct some form of violence. The moment when (President of Serbia Aleksandar) Vučić said in January that there are 17,000 loyalists ready to shed blood for him was a warning that there would be bloodshed regarding the threats to this government's position, and that has happened. Throughout this year, there have been minor attacks, and now we have attacks on journalists every third day, according to NUNS's records, which is unprecedented in Europe," he said.

Speaking about the recent attack on the N1 team near Ćacilenda, Matić assessed that everyone involved in that case has somehow failed.

"I got the impression that there are several parallel reporting and ordering channels, therefore, someone surely ordered that nothing be done there; we have gotten used to non-response, as they did not respond to previous attacks on journalists at the same location. This was the 17th attack," said Matić.

Matić, who appeared after the attack on the N1 team near Ćacilenda, said that there were several types of police present, and that his contacts in the Ministry of Interior and the prosecutor's office did not respond at first when he arrived at the scene of the attack. He described it as shocking that the attack site was not secured for an investigation.

"It was shocking to arrive at the scene of the attack, where parts of the camera were scattered, and the crime scene was not secured, with citizens passing through those remains of the camera and tripod, even though members of the Ministry of Interior were nearby. That was the first problem I could immediately notice. A member of the Ministry of Interior told me that he had notified the authorities and that they were now proceeding automatically. However, time was passing—and no one was coming. I called the contact points again, and again no one answered, so I decided to call service 192 and asked for the police station in Majke Jevrosime; the officer who answered did not know about the event, which was very strange to me, so we explained what had happened, and she said someone would come. After that, a member of the Intervention Police told us that there would be no investigation and that we could collect our things and report the incident at Majke Jevrosime, which was shocking for all of us and completely unbelievable, that supposedly the prosecutor made such a decision. I called Branko Stamenković, the Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor, who is a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and from that moment, the investigation began to unfold in a positive direction. A contact point in the Ministry of Interior also finally responded, and that was only 45 minutes after my arrival," recounted Matić.

He also emphasized that it is interesting in this case that one part of the prosecutor's office decided not to conduct an investigation.

"I reported it to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office and the First Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, since they often pass the ball back and forth, so I reported it to both, and later I received information that the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office immediately decided there was no work for them here and did nothing further. The First Basic showed interest. It is evident that there are some double standards in these cases," Matić assessed.

When information about the attacker emerged and his photograph was published, damage control began, as Matić assessed.

"When the identification occurred, and it was confirmed that it was the same person who is in Pioneer Park every day and who is recorded by KRIK and has been convicted of murder and severe violence, only then did the members of the Intervention Police show interest and start asking questions and making phone calls. First, they tried to protect the attacker, and on another level, very quickly, the identity was uncovered, and the efforts began to find a way to minimize the damage," he said.

Matić also mentioned that he learned that an order was issued to the police to identify this attacker, and simultaneously the First Basic Public Prosecutor's Office sent an inquiry to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate the behavior of the police concerning any criminal acts of inaction or non-response.

"Certainly, NUNS will file a complaint with the Ministry of Interior's Internal Control Service; everything is slow and difficult, but absolutely every step must be taken to ensure that everyone becomes aware that there will be consequences one day," concluded Matić.

Source: N1