Media associations in Serbia have announced a public rally for Monday, November 24, at 7 p.m., in support of the N1 television crew that was attacked while reporting near the Serbian National Assembly. The gathering will take place at the corner of Vlajkovićeva Street and Nikola Pašić Square, the site of the incident.
The attack occurred on Thursday, November 20, when the N1 team was documenting the tent settlement known publicly as “Ćacilend,” located near the parliament. A man approached the journalists, demanded they stop filming, seized their camera, and repeatedly smashed it against the asphalt.
Despite police officers being present nearby, they did not intervene, approaching only after the N1 reporter personally requested assistance. Media organizations describe this as yet another alarming example of an increasingly hostile environment for independent journalists in Serbia.
In their joint statement, media associations called on reporters and citizens to demonstrate professional solidarity with N1 and with all journalists who have faced violence, intimidation, and obstruction while working in the public interest.
“Bring your cameras and phones—symbolically and literally—to do our job on the spot: document, ask questions, record facts. Let us send a dignified but firm message: enough with intimidation, impunity, and institutional negligence.”
Organizations warn that, according to data from the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), hundreds of attacks, threats, and pressures on journalists have been recorded since the beginning of the year—a trend they link to the toxic atmosphere fostered by the ruling structures.
The invitation is signed by NUNS, Media Association, Online Media Association (AOM), Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), Local Press, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, GS KUM Nezavisnost, Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), and the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS).
Media groups stress that solidarity is now more important than ever, especially as journalists face escalating risks in a climate where state institutions frequently fail to protect media freedom and where government-aligned actors continue to demonize independent reporting.
