Izvor: N1 televizija, 02.Nov.2018, 20:58 (ažurirano 02.Apr.2020.)
NUNS: State guilty of impunity for crimes against journalist
The Independent Association of Journalists in Serbia (NUNS) demand from the state to take responsibility for attacks on reporters that went unpunished and call on authorities to support the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) suggestion for the UN to pass a convention on the protection of media, the Beta news agency reported on Friday.
Marking November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, NUNS formulated the request in a letter read >> Pročitaj celu vest na sajtu N1 televizija << during a protest gathering in the Belgrade Media Centre, thus joining the media people around the world in the campaign “End Impunity – for UN Convention on the protection of journalists.”
Between 1991 and 2001, 39 media people from Serbia were killed, kidnapped and disappeared under unclear circumstances and in the majority of the cases those responsible for killings and attacks were not punished, while in some case not even an investigation was launched.
Biljana Stepanovic, a member of the NUNS Executive Board, read a letter which said that this year there were 22 attacks, threats and intimidations of journalists.
The message said that in four cases the prosecutors’ office ruled there was no reason for a procedure since there were no elements of a crime.
The other 16 examples are still in the hands of the prosecutors, a court procedure has started in one case, while one has not been reported to the police.
In 2017, Stepanovic said, NUNS recorded 31 attacks, threats and intimidations of the journalists and that only one perpetrator was ordered a compulsory treatment and received the restraining order, while in six examples the prosecutors refused to launch a procedure since there were no elements of a crime.
The prosecutors’ office is currently processing 23 cases, and a court proceeding has started in one case and a misdemeanour procedure in another.
“That’s why we do not appeal, we insist that the state institutions publicly comment on the increasing pressure on our colleagues,” Stepanovic said, adding that “in the last three years there were 73 cases of pressure from officials.”
“Such a move would encourage journalists to do their job and discourage those who are preventing them from doing it,” Stepanovic added.
Igor Bozic, the N1 television executive producer, said the journalists were still judged by who they work for.
“Such a situation is unsustainable for us who try to do the job professionally. That’s the reason why our reporters feel pretty insecure at the news conferences where they are branded Americans, American mercenaries or journalists loyal to some opposition leaders,” Bozic said.
He added that the state could prevent that, starting from itself, because the officials should have the responsibility to protect those who do their professional job.
“As they prevented the hooligans from attacking the gay population during the Pride they could do the same in protecting journalists,” Bozic said.
The Danas daily editor-in-chief Draza Petrovic said that “the main problem in Serbia’s media is that the president (Aleksandar Vucic) is creating a decent and normal country with the most indecent and the least normal media.”
