Journalists’ Association of Serbia Slams the Police for Their Conduct against Reporters

Police (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

The Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS) on Nov. 18 condemned the police for pushing and shoving journalists and obstructing their work at public gatherings, requesting from the Police Internal Control to open an investigation and punish the officers responsible for the attacks on journalists in Novi Sad.

UNS referred to obstruction of reporters covering two events on Nov. 17 - the public address of Dijana Hrka in Belgrade, and the protest outside the Vojvodina provincial government building in Novi Sad, where bus company owner Milomir Jacimovic has been on hunger strike. 

While covering the public address of Dijana Hrka, who has been protesting over slow progressing investigation into the collapse of the concrete canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station, killing 16 people, including her son, some of the gathered people were demanding from reporters to stop filming and were placing flags in front of the cameras. 

The state public broadcaster RTS’ crew was shoved, verbally attacked and insulted, while Zarko Bogosavljevic of the Novi Sad Razglas news portal, has told UNS that the police physically attacked him and also N1 journalist Sanja Kosovic and the student-run Blokada.info team. 

Although Kosovic wore a raincoat with N1 press sign and had press accreditation, while the Razglas’ team had journalist vests on, that, according to Bogosavljevic, did not prevent the police to shove them and obstruct their work.