BIRN Journalist Assaulted by Ruling Party Activist in Serbia

Journalists’ associations have called for a proper investigation after a Serbian Progressive Party activist attacked BIRN journalist Sasa Dragojlo while he was reporting on a protest in Belgrade’s Zvezdara district on Sunday.

The attack happened in front of several police officers, who removed the assailant but ignored calls to check his identity.

The incident happened while local residents were demonstrating against Serbian Progressive Party activists who had set up promotional stands outside an open-air market to attract new members to the ruling party. The promotional effort, which came amid ongoing mass protests across Serbia about official corruption and negligence, sparked anger among some locals.

Before the assault, Dragojlo had identified himself as a journalist, which only seemed to provoke the attacker further. The incident was caught on video, recorded by Dragojlo and by other witnesses at the scene.

Sasa Dragojlo was filming when approached by ruling party activists. Video: BIRN Serbia

“This kind of attack would be unacceptable against any citizen, and the police should have responded. But in this case, it’s clear the attack was escalated because I was on duty as a journalist,” Dragojlo said.

“You can clearly hear me identifying myself on the recording. The attacker reacted aggressively, saying, ‘Oh, you’re a journalist, huh?’ before lunging at me,” he added.

Despite presenting his press credentials, Dragojlo’s request for the police to identify the attacker was ignored.

“The officers were more focused on me than on the attacker, which only reinforces the impression that they weren’t just failing to do their job – they were biased,” he said.

The case has been reported to prosecutors through the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, NUNS. Both NUNS and the Journalists’ Association of Serbia, UNS, condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

“This was an attack on a journalist while on assignment – one who had clearly identified himself,” said Dragana Zarkovic Obradovic, director of BIRN Serbia.

“We’ve reported the incident and are closely watching how the authorities respond, not just to the attack itself, but also to the fact that police officers on the scene failed to identify the attacker. If there’s no proper response, it sends the message that attacks on journalists are acceptable,” she added.

Protests have been continuing in Serbia for several months, sparked by anger and grief about the Novi Sad Railway Station disaster in November, which left 16 people dead. The student-led protest movement has become the biggest challenge to the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian Progressive Party since the party came to power in 2012.