News Journalist Balša Rudović i am a photographer Boris Pejović They claim that an "angry crowd of drunk people" in Gornji Zaostar yesterday psychologically abused them for an hour and a half and threatened them with death, while the clergy present watched it all and did not respond to their call to help them.
Photojournalist of Victory Stevo Vasiljevic He was physically abused, and Pejović and Rudović were mentally abused, after they tried to record how the statue of the Chetnik commander Pavle Đurišić It is being removed by those who erected it the day before - the residents of Gornji Zaostar. The incident occurred in full view of two plainclothes police officers, who were calmly watching it, according to reporters.
A top police source said late last night that these officers were not nearby when the reporters were harassed.
Berane police detained four people after the incident, arrested two (Danko Femic and Vlado Stijovic in whose possession two memory cards stolen from Vasiljević were found), while one person is being sought. The Police Directorate announced that, if it is determined that there were any omissions by the police officers, “the legally prescribed measures and actions will be applied against them, without exception”.
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Pejović was threatened that if "anything gets published in Vijesti" - they would "kill him with their bare hands".
Pejović said that at the beginning of the event, the priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church gave the teams of "Vijesti" and "Pobjeda" their blessing to work:
"When the attack occurred, I sought help from a priest who had initially given us a blessing for taking photos and filming. I asked him to help us get our equipment back and stop attacking us. He claimed that the blessing was only valid for taking photos around the church, and he and other priests watched the harassment of the press crews."
Rudović said that Vasiljević was beaten by dozens of people.
"After he was pulled out of the angry crowd with the help of several locals, they managed to either take away or destroy all of his equipment," Rudović told TV Vijesti.
No injuries were found to reporters at the Berane hospital.
Vasiljević said: "We, as they say, filmed something that shouldn't have been filmed. Alcohol, aided by their worldviews, spoke out of these people, one of them set the crowd on fire, they ran towards us and it was literally what is called a 'lynch mob' in English. If a single priest had come in front of that crowd, none of this would have happened."
Pejović and Vasiljević gave statements last night at the Berane Security Department.
The Police Directorate did not respond to Vijesti's questions about how many police officers were in Gornji Zaostar, whether they were filming the event and if not, why not, and who the two police officers who stood still while the photojournalists were being harassed were.
The attack on reporters from Vijesti and Pobjeda was condemned yesterday by the President of the Republic Jakov Milatovic, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Becic, Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović, Delegation of the European Union in Podgorica, Ombudsman, journalist associations, prominent journalists, several non-governmental organizations and political parties (PES, DPS, GP URA, European Union, Preokret...).
Milatović called on all competent institutions in the country to ensure public order and peace and consistent application of the law, because no one should be stronger than the state.
Spajić said that certain religious dignitaries, through irresponsible behavior, created an environment in which media workers became victims.
"Every attack on journalists is a direct blow to media freedom and fundamental democratic values," he wrote on the X network.
The EU delegation said it expects the Montenegrin authorities to conduct a swift and efficient investigation into the attack and ensure urgent and effective law enforcement.
The SafeJournalists Network said it was deeply concerned by this act of violence.
"The use of physical force, threats, destruction of professional equipment and coercion against journalists while performing their work constitute a gross violation of media freedom and fundamental human rights," the statement said.
As they said, despite the fact that the perpetrators were arrested, it is deeply concerning that the police did not react in a timely manner to prevent the incident, even though it was clear that tensions at such an event could escalate.
They add that such inability or unwillingness to proactively protect journalists undermines the role of public institutions and encourages those who want to stifle critical reporting with violence.
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