The European Commission (EC) expects Serbian authorities to conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the attack on an N1 TV crew that took place Thursday outside the Serbian Parliament, EC spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said.
“Attacks against journalists are unacceptable. The Commission expresses its concern about repeated reports on attacks on journalists in Serbia. We expect Serbian authorities to conduct a swift and transparent investigation into this case,” Mercier said regarding the attack on N1, which took place Thursday near the regime-supporter encampment (colloquially known as Caciland) outside the Serbian Parliament in central Belgrade.
On Thursday, in full view of police, a group of young men dressed in black approached the N1 crew while they were on assignment, and one of them proceeded to smash their camera and tripod, while police officers stood by and watched in silence.
The attacker is suspected to be an individual who, by his own admission, was sentenced to a combined 35 years for murder and robbery. His sentence was cut in half because he was a young adult at the time of sentencing, which he himself said on Happy TV.
According to Radio Free Europe, he has been convicted since then as well – receiving a year and a half for assault. He was a fugitive for a time before eventually turning himself in to serve his sentence.
Source: N1
