Izvor: N1 televizija, 27.Avg.2018, 15:28 (ažurirano 02.Apr.2020.)
RS leader: Authorities not behind attack on BNTV reporter
Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik on Monday denied any involvement by the RS authorities on BNTV reporter Vladimir Kovacevic.
The RS authorities are absolutely not behind the attack on the BNTV's Vladimir Kovacevic, he said following Sunday's assault.
Kovacevic was physically assaulted in front of the building where he lives on Sunday night in the city of Banja Luka by two unidentified men, >> Pročitaj celu vest na sajtu N1 televizija << who beat him with expandable batons. Kovacevic was hospitalized. . He described it as a sudden attack by two unknown persons who drove away in a car.
“I condemn the attack, it is absolutely worth every condemnation, I demanded and I still demand from the police to take all possible measures,” said Dodik after the visit the injured reporter.
“I called him and asked if he is fine with me visiting him, he said 'yes' and I did so. During that talk, I said I absolutely reject any possibility of the authorities standing behind the attack,” Dodik said.
The RS president offered police protection to Kovacevic.
“If he decides to accept it, we will set up protection. It's not true that there is an atmosphere of lynch. Some may want that, but I reject it,” Dodik told media after the visit.
“I express my regret, we all should do something to make the society more stable,” Dodik said.
BNTV's Banja Luka bureau chief Zeljko Rajic said earlier on Monday that the on site investigation by the police conducted was not “thorough, like many before.”
“We will launch all mechanisms of legal protection, and we will work on what's basically our job, we will deal with this case. As for the RS police, which came to the site of the accident, we are not happy with what has been done. (…) What happened last night is a message to reporters in the RS and the whole media community, especially the BNTV's reporters,” Rajic warned.
According to him, journalists are exposed to threats and pressure and this attack will be treated as a “serious attack.”
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