Pride Caravan in Pirot cancelled; two arrested over attack on journalists

The Interior Ministry has announced the arrest of A. M. and P. M. on suspicion of endangering the safety of an N1 television journalist and cameraman while they were reporting from the Pride Caravan in Pirot — an event that was cancelled on security grounds.

According to the ministry, the two men are suspected of hitting the N1 journalist and cameraman with a tomato on the Square of Pirot Warriors at around 6.30pm on 18 July, shortly before the Pride Caravan was due to begin. A misdemeanour complaint will also be filed against D. V. (43), suspected of “pushing the N1 cameraman's camera away with his hand and insulting the station's journalist”.

Journalists' associations had earlier strongly condemned the attack on N1 journalist Gordana Bjeletić, as well as the obstruction of Mašina reporter Aleksandar Đokić and Tampon zona journalist Sara Stanojković, during the gathering of Pride Caravan opponents on the town's main square.

The journalists' associations UNS and NUNS demanded that the authorities urgently identify and punish those responsible, and that they secure the conditions for media to work safely and unhindered at all events of public importance.

UNS pointed to footage showing the assembled protesters covering the N1 crew's camera, while in a video published by Mašina, Đokić is told: “Get out of here, don't provoke. Come on, break it up, quickly.”

NUNS specified that the N1 crew and other journalists were subjected to insults and intimidation. According to the association, the physical attacks and abuse forced the journalists to withdraw to a safe distance, and they immediately reported the incidents to the police officers who were present the entire time.

The attacks on journalists were also condemned in the strongest terms by the striking students in Niš, who called them “another in a series of blows against media freedom, the public's right to be informed, and the democratic values every free society should rest on”.

“The professionalism, responsibility and courage of journalists deserve respect, not threats and violence. We express full support for Gordana, Sara and Aleksandar, and for all journalists who do their job honourably, responsibly and in line with professional and ethical standards,” the University Media Working Group in Niš said in a statement.

The Pride Caravan, organised by the association Da se zna!, was cancelled after the Pirot police directorate assessed that, because of a large gathering of men opposed to the event, “the safety of participants cannot be guaranteed”. According to the organisers, the crowd shouted homophobic slogans, prompting the police to deploy units in riot gear.

Da se zna! condemned in the strongest terms the Pirot police directorate's decision to ban the caravan — communicated to them only verbally — and demanded the immediate dismissal of its chief, Dejan Tošić, for “failing to secure a public assembly in accordance with the law” while “allowing journalists to be attacked”.

“The police allowed hooligans to directly endanger the lives of activists and journalists, instead of arresting and prosecuting all the assembled hooligans for the criminal offence of endangering safety,” the association said, calling the ban “a brutal violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and international conventions”.

The Pride Caravan organisers remained at the entrance to the town.

Source: Danas. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.