The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns the multiple attacks, obstructions, and intimidation of journalists who reported from yesterday’s Vidovdan protest in Belgrade. Particularly alarming is the fact that the majority of incidents were committed by police officers themselves or occurred without any police intervention, despite numerous reports and appeals by journalists.
The Insajder crew was physically prevented from conducting a street poll in a fenced area in front of the National Assembly by an aggressive participant of the Serbian Progressive Party rally, who threatened and insulted them and ordered them to leave the area. The same man also obstructed crews from N1, Newsmax, Al Jazeera Balkans, FoNet news agency, and Danas daily.
N1 reporter Nenad Nešić and the Insajder crew were directly obstructed in their reporting, facing verbal accusations of “provoking” and being told to leave the area. Nešić was followed and filmed with a mobile phone by the same man while trying to report, who also harassed the Insajder crew.
Despite repeated appeals from journalists, the police failed to react immediately.
Danas reporter Vojin Radovanović was kicked by a police officer after approaching to film an arrest. A plainclothes officer from the Gendarmerie grabbed his arm, pushed him away, and kicked him in the backside as he walked away.
N1 assistant Jovan Pavlović was injured during a police intervention. Despite identifying himself and stating he worked for N1, police officers pushed him to the ground.
FoNet cameramen Darko Pavlović and Zoran Drekalović were subjected to physical violence during Gendarmerie interventions. Pavlović, visibly wearing a press badge and holding a camera, was hit several times in the back and exposed to tear gas during an intervention at the “London” intersection in central Belgrade. Drekalović was struck on the hand with a baton while holding his camera and knocked to the ground with a shield during a Gendarmerie operation on Kralja Milana Street near the Kneza Miloša intersection.
Vreme weekly reporter was expelled from a building entrance in Resavska Street, where she had taken shelter with demonstrators. Although she clearly identified herself as a journalist, a plainclothes officer explicitly forbade her from filming, saying: “I don’t care that you’re with the media.”
Božidar Milovac, a journalist for Univerzitetski odjek and a correspondent for Beta, was obstructed by an unknown individual who approached from the direction of Pionirski Park and attempted to demand identification from the journalist and prevent him from filming. Despite police intervention, the individual continued to obstruct and assault Milovac.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) expects that more journalists and media workers will report obstruction and assaults over the course of the day.
The behavior of the police during the protest is unacceptable and deeply concerning. It reflects an ongoing pattern of inadequate and unprofessional conduct towards journalists over recent months. Instead of being protected while performing their duties, journalists are exposed to violence and prevented from reporting — without consequences for the perpetrators. This is not an isolated incident but further evidence of the collapse of institutional accountability in Serbia.
IJAS demands that the Ministry of the Interior immediately launch an internal investigation and determine the responsibility of police and Gendarmerie officers involved in these incidents. We also call on all competent institutions to prosecute those who attacked and obstructed journalists and media workers.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/163 from 2013 provides clear guidance to member states to do everything in their power to prevent violence against journalists and ensure accountability through impartial, prompt, and effective investigations into all attacks. The resolution calls on states to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work freely and without interference, including raising awareness within the judiciary, police, and military, and publicly condemning attacks.
We therefore call on the Ministry of the Interior to act in accordance with these international obligations.
We reiterate that journalists and media workers have a duty to report in the public interest, and their safety is a prerequisite for the functioning of a democratic society. Any obstruction of journalists’ work and any act of violence against them is a direct attack on media freedom and must be sanctioned without delay.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Beograde, June 29, 2025.
