B92 to file criminal complaint after attack on reporters

BELGRADE B92 will file a criminal complaint against unknown persons who attacked its crew reporting from the municipality of Odzaci during early local elections there. B92 is concerned about the treatment of its crew sent to report from Odzaci on Sunday. A B92 reporter and a cameraman came under attack there while filming incidents near polling stations. B92 to file criminal complaint after attack on reporters Initially, contrary to the electoral legislation, B92 was not given permission to film the electoral process in Odzaci. This decision came after the intervention of the president of the Municipal Election Commission. Later, the B92 crew was forced to observe the incidents at a polling station in Backi Gracac from a great distance, and finally had to leave because perpetrators tried to physically attack the reporters, and the police could not guarantee their safety. "Given everything that happened during the previous day, B92 will file a criminal complaint against unknown persons for qualified form of the crime of endangering safety, and refer it to the competent public prosecutor's office, in the hope that with an effective apprehension and prosecution of those responsible, the state will send a strong message that violence against journalists is unacceptable, and that it is totally committed to guaranteeing media freedoms." A crew of the TV Prva television outlet also came under attack. The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly protests the attacks on the teams of journalists with television stations TV B92 and TV Prva – both members of ANEM – that took place while they were reporting on incidents that occurred during the local election held in Odzaci on Sunday. Jovana Stetin and Dejan Goljevac (TV B92), as well as Biljana Gavric and Lazar Vukadinovic (TV Prva), were attacked near the polling place in Backi Gracac. The television crews came to the polling place after it had been reported that voting in Gracac was suspended after a fight between political party activists. Journalists were protected by the police from direct physical attacks near the polling place. However, the police also advised the journalists to leave the location since they could not guarantee their safety in the case of potential new attacks. ANEM points out that reporting on the electoral process is one of the most sensitive tasks of the media, and that the media in Serbia has been accused for years – during each electoral cycle – of being biased and favoring one political option over the other. What is specific for the attack that took place in Odzaci is the fact that the attackers tried to prevent the media from even reporting on suspended voting at one of the polling places. "The electoral process in a democratic society cannot be realized without creating conditions for the media to report on such process without any hindrances, and for the citizens to receive all relevant information about the process which constitutes the very essence and basis of democracy. Any attacks on journalists who report on elections, and especially physical attacks of such intensity that even the police cannot guarantee protection from them, are impermissible in a democratic society that Serbia aspires to be," the association said, and added: ANEM calls on everyone who supports democratization of Serbia to strongly condemn the incident and to express their solidarity with journalists and the media who have found themselves under attack. ANEM demands that the authorities investigate all circumstances of the attack on television crews in Backi Gracac and prosecute the perpetrators, so that such incidents would not happen again. Police are seen in Backi Gracac B92

B92 to file criminal complaint after attack on reporters

Initially, contrary to the electoral legislation, B92 was not given permission to film the electoral process in Odžaci. This decision came after the intervention of the president of the Municipal Election Commission.

Later, the B92 crew was forced to observe the incidents at a polling station in Bački Gračac from a great distance, and finally had to leave because perpetrators tried to physically attack the reporters, and the police could not guarantee their safety.

"Given everything that happened during the previous day, B92 will file a criminal complaint against unknown persons for qualified form of the crime of endangering safety, and refer it to the competent public prosecutor's office, in the hope that with an effective apprehension and prosecution of those responsible, the state will send a strong message that violence against journalists is unacceptable, and that it is totally committed to guaranteeing media freedoms."

A crew of the TV Prva television outlet also came under attack.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly protests the attacks on the teams of journalists with television stations TV B92 and TV Prva – both members of ANEM – that took place while they were reporting on incidents that occurred during the local election held in Odžaci on Sunday.

Jovana Štetin and Dejan Goljevac (TV B92), as well as Biljana Gavrić and Lazar Vukadinović (TV Prva), were attacked near the polling place in Bački Gračac. The television crews came to the polling place after it had been reported that voting in Gračac was suspended after a fight between political party activists. Journalists were protected by the police from direct physical attacks near the polling place. However, the police also advised the journalists to leave the location since they could not guarantee their safety in the case of potential new attacks.

ANEM points out that reporting on the electoral process is one of the most sensitive tasks of the media, and that the media in Serbia has been accused for years – during each electoral cycle – of being biased and favoring one political option over the other. What is specific for the attack that took place in Odžaci is the fact that the attackers tried to prevent the media from even reporting on suspended voting at one of the polling places.

"The electoral process in a democratic society cannot be realized without creating conditions for the media to report on such process without any hindrances, and for the citizens to receive all relevant information about the process which constitutes the very essence and basis of democracy. Any attacks on journalists who report on elections, and especially physical attacks of such intensity that even the police cannot guarantee protection from them, are impermissible in a democratic society that Serbia aspires to be," the association said, and added:

ANEM calls on everyone who supports democratization of Serbia to strongly condemn the incident and to express their solidarity with journalists and the media who have found themselves under attack.

ANEM demands that the authorities investigate all circumstances of the attack on television crews in Bački Gračac and prosecute the perpetrators, so that such incidents would not happen again.