The Coalition for Media Freedom expresses serious concern over the incidents that took place in Kovin and Kragujevac while journalists were reporting on the departure of supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to a rally in Belgrade. These latest events point to increasingly frequent pressure on journalists and threats to their safety at the local level.
During a live broadcast from Kovin, Violeta Živkov, editor of the local portal Kovinskeinfo, was reporting on the departure of SNS supporters to the event in Belgrade. Conversations with citizens preparing to leave for Belgrade were proceeding calmly until she approached a man who initially agreed to speak with a smile, but then suddenly reacted aggressively and directly threatened the journalist filming the report, saying: “Move away! I’ll smash that!”, referring to the phone. He also accused the journalist of harassing him.
Feeling threatened and proceeding from the principle that every form of threat must be reported, the editor reported the case to the competent inspector at the Kovin Police Station.
Particularly worrying is the fact that local officials, including the deputy president of the Municipality of Kovin and the head of the SNS council group, were present at the scene, witnessed the incident, and did not react.
On the same day in Kragujevac, Glas Šumadije journalist Vuk Mladenović was obstructed while filming SNS supporters boarding a bus. One of those present physically tried to prevent him from filming by placing a hand over his phone, while commenting, “Why are you filming?” and “There’s no need for your hands to shake,” after which he also tried to take the phone from him.
At the SNS rally in Belgrade, Nova TV journalist Isidora Kovačević was also obstructed and insulted while doing her job, while N1 TV journalist Maja Nikolić was not provided with police escort even though she had requested it from an officer present at the scene.
These incidents clearly show a pattern of increasingly frequent pressure, threats, and obstruction of journalists’ work.
We remind the public that journalists must be allowed to do their work freely and safely in the communities where they live and work, especially when reporting on events of public interest. Any form of intimidation, obstruction, or threat constitutes a serious violation of media freedom.
We call on the competent institutions to react urgently, identify and prosecute those responsible, and ensure effective protection for journalists in the field. We also call on all public officials to clearly and unequivocally condemn every form of violence against media workers.
Coalition for Media Freedom: the Media Association, the Online Media Association (AOM), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (IJAV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Lokal Pres,” the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, and the “Nezavisnost” Branch Trade Union of Culture, Art and Media.
