ANEM: Attacks on journalists, impunity for abuse of power unacceptable

“Student Luka Pesic is reporting as a freelance journalist for the student pages of the faculties in blockade, with a press accreditation from the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia,” ANEM said.

After the protests on Sunday evening, Pesic was unjustly pursued first by unidentified individuals, and then by police in riot gear. They violently threw him to the ground while attempting to seize his phone, which he managed to pass to friends, who shouted to the police that Luka had press accreditation, ANEM explained.

“At the police station, his camera was confiscated and taken to an adjacent room, even though it should not have been examined without a warrant. When he insisted on being allowed to call a lawyer, the police officers clearly misinformed him that he had no right to do so,” said ANEM.

The Association emphasized that police violence during protests cannot be concealed by attacking journalists, arrests, and confiscating recording equipment.

“A new generation of reporters has emerged over the past ten months, and they are the ones who contribute the most to ensuring that all important events and protests are covered properly. The torture of Aleksa Stankovic by the police, the attacks on Gavrilo Andric, on female and male journalists, the confiscation of equipment from the Blokada info channel, are unacceptable, as is the impunity for the abuse of power,” ANEM said.