A violent incident has occurred in Bajina Basta amid local elections i Serbia. At the same location where masked observers were previously spotted, a physical attack on members of the press has been reported. Darko Gligorijevic, a journalist for the Zoomer portal, was assaulted by one of several men dressed in black positioned at a local parking lot. Although police arrived at the scene after more than two hours, Gligorijevic reported they only checked the suspects’ identification and did not take them into custody.
The journalist explained that he and his colleagues arrived at the parking lot after receiving information that a large group of unidentified men had gathered there.
“I was at the intersection and saw a young man approach them to film. They took his phone. I started to follow the group to see where they were going, and as I moved, a stocky young man in black approached me to snatch my phone. As I resisted, he struck me several times in the head. He then sprayed me with tear gas; it took me several minutes to be able to see and regain my composure,” Gligorijevic stated.
He further detailed the escalation of the encounter:
“I shouted ‘journalist, attack on a journalist,’ and at some point, they calmed down. The crowd dispersed. A student who was working as a photojournalist also had her camera seized. Another man’s was hit in the head and he was bleeding,” he said.
The incident is part of a series of reported irregularities and tensions across the municipalities currently holding local elections.
Source: N1
