MUP in pledge to protect journalists

Police Chief Milorad Veljovic says his men had orders to protect journalists during yesterday's demonstrations. He added that an inquiry would be conducted to ascertain why journalists failed to receive the necessary protection. MUP in pledge to protect journalists "This unseemly act has given the police a further important task, and that is to hunt down the perpetrators of this incident," said Veljovic during a visit to injured B92 cameraman Bosko Brankovic, who sustained serious leg injuries yesterday after being assaulted by a group of protesters. Asked whether police had had orders to protect journalists, he said that he would look into it, adding that "there was certainly no intention on the police's part not to protect them." The police chief also conveyed to Brankovic Interior Minister Ivica Dacic's wishes for a speedy recovery, adding that an intensive hunt was under way for the perpetrators, that they would be identified in the coming days, and that their names would be made public. He underlined that one of the police's priorities in future would be protection of journalists. Meanwhile, orthopedic surgeon Zoran Stefanovic said that a decision on treating the cameraman would be made based on the first detailed tests using a scanner. “For now we can propose an operation so that the existing break can be fixed to prevent further dislocation of the bones,” Stefanovic said. He said that he did not know if there was a chance of Brankovic suffering any permanent disability, and that this would become clear once more tests were run. For now, his condition is stable. The cameraman was attacked during yesterday’s protest organized by nationalist organizations and the Serb Radical Party over the arrest of Hague accused Radovan Karadzic. During the protest, a cameraman from the FoNet agency was also attacked and his camera destroyed. The attack occurred when a younger male protestor in a column of people heading towards the Turkish embassy set upon a FoNet photographer, who was hit in the back several times. After the attack on the photographer, the protester turned his attention to the B92 cameraman knocking him to the ground. The attacker’s face can very clearly be soon on the footage. At the same time, protesters were chanting “Hit, hit the journalist.” Police were standing five meters from the incident, dressed in full riot gear and did nothing to stop the attack. “I wanted to film the man bending down to pick up the pieces of his broken camera lens. At that moment I noticed that someone was yelling something, I turned the camera towards him, he put his leg up and kicked me and I fell. I must have fallen on my injured knee and then others joined in and started hitting me,” Brankovic recalled. The FoNet photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that protesters were hitting people constantly. “I was hit three or four times in the back. I moved to the side to protect my equipment. And then I took cover, and I saw that they were kicking a colleague from B92,” the photographer said. Moments before yesterday's attack (FoNet)

MUP in pledge to protect journalists

"This unseemly act has given the police a further important task, and that is to hunt down the perpetrators of this incident," said Veljović during a visit to injured B92 cameraman Boško Branković, who sustained serious leg injuries yesterday after being assaulted by a group of protesters. Asked whether police had had orders to protect journalists, he said that he would look into it, adding that "there was certainly no intention on the police's part not to protect them."

The police chief also conveyed to Branković Interior Minister Ivica Dačić's wishes for a speedy recovery, adding that an intensive hunt was under way for the perpetrators, that they would be identified in the coming days, and that their names would be made public. He underlined that one of the police's priorities in future would be protection of journalists.

Meanwhile, orthopedic surgeon Zoran Stefanović said that a decision on treating the cameraman would be made based on the first detailed tests using a scanner.

“For now we can propose an operation so that the existing break can be fixed to prevent further dislocation of the bones,” Stefanović said.

He said that he did not know if there was a chance of Branković suffering any permanent disability, and that this would become clear once more tests were run. For now, his condition is stable.

The cameraman was attacked during yesterday’s protest organized by nationalist organizations and the Serb Radical Party over the arrest of Hague accused Radovan Karadžić.

During the protest, a cameraman from the FoNet agency was also attacked and his camera destroyed.

The attack occurred when a younger male protestor in a column of people heading towards the Turkish embassy set upon a FoNet photographer, who was hit in the back several times.

After the attack on the photographer, the protester turned his attention to the B92 cameraman knocking him to the ground. The attacker’s face can very clearly be soon on the footage.

At the same time, protesters were chanting “Hit, hit the journalist.”

Police were standing five meters from the incident, dressed in full riot gear and did nothing to stop the attack.

“I wanted to film the man bending down to pick up the pieces of his broken camera lens. At that moment I noticed that someone was yelling something, I turned the camera towards him, he put his leg up and kicked me and I fell. I must have fallen on my injured knee and then others joined in and started hitting me,” Branković recalled.

The FoNet photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that protesters were hitting people constantly.

“I was hit three or four times in the back. I moved to the side to protect my equipment. And then I took cover, and I saw that they were kicking a colleague from B92,” the photographer said.