A regional media freedom advocacy organization warned on Wednesday that the attack on BN TV reporter Vladimir Kovacevic is the 11th physical assault on journalists in the Western Balkans this year.
The Regional Platform for Media Freedom and the Safety of Journalists said the attack on Kovacevic was the 3rd this year in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It added that there were also 32 cases of intimidation, threats, one attack on property, one arrest and three cases of discrimination.
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The previous worst incident was in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica on May 8 when Vijesti daily newspaper investigative reporter Olivera Lakic was shot in the leg in front of her home.
“According to our database, the prevalent form of assault are verbal attacks and threats and the largest number of attacks and threats against journalists were reported in Serbia,” the Beta news agency was told by the Regional Platform’s researcher Marija Vukasovic.
She said that there were four cases of physical assault and 13 cases of verbal assault, including death threats, reported in Serbia, one physical assault and one case of intimidation in Macedonia.
The Regional Platform is a network of journalist and media organizations in the countries of the Western Balkans which was formed in 2016 with financial support from the European Union as part of EU support to civil society.
