Osman Mehanović, a cameraman from UPS Media, a local media for the towns Bratunac and Srebrenica in the Birač region in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was brutally attacked on 23 June 2023 in the evening.
The 19-year-old Mehanović was attacked in Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where three young men assaulted him, beat him, and shouted ultra-nationalist slogans. One of them told him: “Do you want us to slaughter you like we slaughtered you (your nation – explanation by SEEMO) in Srebrenica?”
After receiving medical treatment at a local hospital, Mehanović provided a statement to the Police Directorate in Zvornik, whose officers swiftly identified the attackers and handed them over to the relevant prosecutor for further investigation.
This is not the first hate-driven attack or threat on UPS Media employees; there was a previous targeted ultra-nationalist campaign against Dragan Jovanović, the director of UPS Media, which lasted several days on local portals and social media platforms.
SEEMO calls upon the police, judicial bodies, and local authorities in Srebrenica, Zvornik and Bratunac in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to protect journalists and media workers and penalize any form of violence against journalists and other media workers.
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