Media Association: Police Protecting Unidentified Persons Obstructing Work of Reporters in Front of Parliament

Cameramen(Beta/Armenija Zajmi Besevic)

The ANEM Association of Independent Electronic Media said in a press release on Dec. 17 that the police were protecting unidentified persons obstructing the work of journalists reporting in front of the Serbian parliament, and asked that the police make it possible for media to do their work safely in this public space.

ANEM listed examples of obstruction of reporters for the Masina, Nova S and Danas media outlets, and called on Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and director of police Dragan Vasiljevic to explain to the public why journalists were barred from this area of the city and what law requires media outlets to give notice and obtain permission before reporting from public spaces.

Veran Matic, head of the board of governors of ANEM and a member of a working group for the safety of journalists, asked why the police officers there did not respond to incidents, but rather protected and "in a way" assisted the unidentified persons gathered in the fenced encampment in front of the parliament building who are hiding their identities. "Is their job to protect journalists and other citizens or the suspicious individuals preventing free movement through downtown Belgrade? We call attention to it being the duty and obligation of the police to ensure that work in the public interest can be done safely from all public spaces, not to prevent reporters from doing their work in the field," Matic added.

According to him, there have been 17 documented physical assaults and removals of media representatives from the area in front the parliament, and the perpetrators are yet to be punished, even though most have been identified from the media footage.