Cameramen (BETAPHOTO/ARMENIJA ZAJMI BESEVIC/EV)
On March 10, international media watchdog for the Western Balkans SafeJournalists Network was quick to condemn the day’s detention of photojournalist Gavrilo Andric. The organization asked the Serbian authorities to explain why Andric was taken into police custody while doing his job at a rally in Loznica, and stated all local and international actors monitoring the safety of journalists and media freedom in the region will be notified of the incident.
Andric was recording members of the public, activists and family gathered in front of Loznica’s courthouse while farmer and We Won’t Give Up Jadar movement activist Zlatko Kokanovic was attending a hearing over his 2024 protest blockade of local railway tracks. As the police vehicle transporting Kokanovic was leaving the premises, Andric ran after it to take photos and was stopped and detained by police.
Andric previously recorded police preventing Kokanovic’s daughter from approaching the vehicle to see her father.
According to SafeJournalists, misdemeanor charges of alleged disruption of the public peace and order have been filed against Andric, while officers at the station where he was held had demanded he delete all videos and images from his camera.
“[J]ournalists and photojournalists have both the duty and the right to cover events of public importance and to document the conduct of institutions in public places. Detaining a media worker while performing his job, as well as initiating proceedings against him for professional reporting, constitutes a serious form of pressure and sends a troubling message to all journalists,” SafeJournalists Network wrote on its website.
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