N1: Identify and sanction attacker of N1 TV crew outside Caciland

On Thursday, a man approached N1 reporters and cameramen who were doing their job, filming near the Serbian Parliament building. He demanded that they stop filming, then grabbed the camera and slammed it to the ground repeatedly, breaking it.

It is particularly alarming that all of this happened right in front of police officers, who only approached after being called by N1’s reporter. And that, it seems, was the extent of their involvement. We are still waiting for the police to do their job - to establish all the circumstances of the incident and punish the attacker.

It is unacceptable for officers of the Internal Affairs Ministry, whose basic duty is “to maintain public order and peace and protect the lives, property and personal safety of citizens,” to stand idly by while violence is being committed against journalists.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident but merely the latest in a series of attacks on N1 employees. We are certain that these attacks have been directly encouraged by the years-long targeting campaign to which we have been subjected – a campaign conducted by high-ranking state officials against our journalists through pro-regime tabloids. Today, regrettably, we have once again witnessed how dangerous the consequences of that campaign can be.

We emphasize that the area in front of the Serbian Parliament building is a public space where filming is permitted, and that the state has an obligation to ensure conditions for the journalists’ unimpeded work, especially in places of the highest public importance. Freedom of the media is the foundation of democracy, and all who endanger it – whether