Several dozen people associated with local civic assemblies entered the premises of Serbian television station Informer in Belgrade on Monday evening, damaging computers and forcing a confrontation with the broadcaster’s editor-in-chief, Dragan J. Vučićević. Dijana Hrka, the mother of a victim of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, was among those present.
According to Serbian media reports, the group initially gathered outside the station before entering the newsroom. Videos shared on social media by civic assemblies from Batajnica, Voždovac and Braće Jerković, as well as the Kreni-Promeni movement in Voždovac, showed people assembled outside the broadcaster.
“Let’s hold an editorial meeting together,” read the caption accompanying one of the videos.
Vučićević calls police during live broadcast
Informer editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević said the group had been banging on the newsroom’s windows and doors and alleged that one section of the entrance doors had been forced open.
“They’re banging on the windows, they’ve broken off one section of the door, and now they’re going to the other entrance. They want to get inside,” Vučićević said during a live broadcast, calling on police to intervene.
He also contacted Ilija Srdanović, the lead candidate of Serbia’s Student List, urging him to respond to the situation.
The group subsequently entered the newsroom. Footage broadcast live showed several computers damaged inside the premises, while police officers in protective equipment arrived at the scene.
Editor-in-chief escorted out of the newsroom
Following a confrontation involving Hrka and other people present, Vučićević was escorted out of the newsroom by members of the group.
Footage aired by Informer showed Vučićević and members of the civic assemblies on a staircase, where those present demanded an apology from him.
The incident comes amid heightened political tensions in Serbia following the Student List’s victory in the snap parliamentary elections and continued public demands for accountability over the Novi Sad railway station disaster.
