The SafeJournalists Network strongly condemns the excessive use of force by members of the Ministry of Interior (MUP) units during an intervention at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, where – alongside professors and students – journalists reporting from the scene also became targets of physical violence.
Yesterday, journalists, professors and students gathered in protest over the dismissal of Jelena Kleut, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy. MUP officers entered the faculty building in order to remove protesting students, and used excessive force while pushing back those gathered. Video footage available on social media shows some MUP members striking people with open and closed fists as well as with shields, while others were kicking them.
Several journalists told Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) that among those forcibly pushed out of the building were Professor Jelena Kleut and multiple media crews covering the events in Novi Sad. The police used force and pushed journalists from Blokade info, Mašina and Danas, and MUP officers physically struck one Blokade info journalist. During this wave of police action, journalists from other newsrooms were also pushed and expelled from the building together with students and faculty staff, and some of them sustained minor injuries during that pushing. Journalists clearly identified themselves, and some were visibly marked with “Press” vests and showed their press IDs.
On several occasions, police officers ordered individual journalists to move away from the positions from which they were reporting, even though their presence did not obstruct police operations or endanger safety on the ground.
The SafeJournalists Network reminds the public that it is the police’s duty to ensure safe working conditions for media workers and to protect journalists – not to obstruct, push, strike, or otherwise endanger them while they are reporting on events of public interest.
We demand that the Ministry of Interior urgently conduct an internal review of the actions of the Gendarmerie and other police units that intervened at the Faculty of Philosophy, identify those responsible for the use of force against journalists, students and professors, and inform the public of the findings. At the same time, we call on the competent prosecutor’s office to take immediate action within its jurisdiction and determine whether there is criminal liability for the recorded violence.
IJAS has repeatedly and publicly pointed out that the police are obliged to protect journalists and respect their right to report without interference. We also recall that last year saw a record number of attacks against journalists by the police, and that this practice must stop immediately – because every new incident, without swift and visible accountability, deepens impunity and increases the risk of further attacks. From March to December, IJAS recorded 77 cases involving police attacks, unjustified detentions and identity checks, as well as failures to respond when attacks on journalists occurred in the presence of police officers.
The SafeJournalists Network will inform relevant national and international actors about this case.
Every attack on journalists is an attack on democracy, the public interest, and fundamental human rights.
Pristina – Skopje – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Belgrade – Podgorica – Tirana, January 22, 2026
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
BH Journalists’ Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
