On 5 November 2024 in Novi Sad, Serbia, a protest took a violent turn when a group of masked individuals infiltrated the demonstrators, attacking journalists and police. According to N1 news channel (https://n1info.rs/) reporter Žaklina Tatalović, this group, armed with baseball bats, flares, and various objects, clashed with police officers stationed in the center of Novi Sad, Serbia. At one point, members of the group reportedly broke an N1 camera and assaulted a cameraman, obstructing the team’s ability to cover the event.
You can read the N1 article here: https://n1info.rs/vesti/maskirani-muskarci-razbili-kameru-tv-n1-napadnut-snimatelj-u-novom-sadu/
Additional a group attacked Mirko Todorović, the cameraman of the Euronews Serbia (https://www.euronews.rs). As can be seen in a video, an unknown man knocked down the cameraman of Euronews and he fell to the ground with the camera.
Witnesses reported that these masked individuals repeatedly threw objects creating a volatile atmosphere and escalating tensions within the crowd. Another N1 journalist covering the protests indicated that the instigators may have been local football club supporters, as they were heard chanting fan songs.
The protest in Novi Sad, Serbia, on 5 November 2024, was held in response to a tragic accident where a concrete canopy collapsed at the city’s newly renovated train station, resulting in the deaths of 14 people. Demonstrators demanded accountability from city and government officials, as well as a public investigation into the contractors involved in the station’s renovation. The protest intensified as participants clashed with police and called for transparency in public projects.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns this violent attack on media professionals, emphasizing that freedom of the press is a fundamental democratic right that must be respected, even in times of civil unrest. Journalists play a crucial role in keeping the public informed, and any aggression against them is an attack on freedom of information. SEEMO urges authorities to investigate this incident thoroughly and ensure the safety of journalists covering protests in Serbia. It is not the first time that during a protest in Serbia journalists have been attacked. Especially it is worried, that a large number of police officers, in uniforms and in civilian clothes, were present in the center of Novi Sad, which was seen in live broadcasts, but no one reacted to the attack on the journalists. SEEMO will be closely monitoring this case to promote accountability and safeguard journalists’ rights across the region.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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