The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) has condemned the physical assault on Blic newspaper correspondent Gvozden Zdravic in Aleksandrovac, Serbia.
On September 30, Gvozden Zdravic was physically assaulted while on duty. Zdravic was photographing the local courthouse when the driver of the mayor of Aleksandrovac allegedly ran out of the courthouse and physically abused Zdravic by punching him several times in the head. Zdravic called the police, who arrived on the scene, and then went to hospital due to his head injuries.
Unfortunately this is not the first attack on Zdravic, who was first assaulted on September 23, at around 20:00, allegedly by a security guard from the local Aleksandrovac authorities while reporting on and photographing the opening day of a local event in the city centre. The second attack occurred on September 25, around noon, allegedly again by the same security guard, who identified himself as private security for the Mayor of Aleksandrovac, at the entrance of the local high school, when Zdravic wanted to visit an agricultural exhibition.
Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary-General, said: "SEEMO strongly condemns physical attacks on journalists and would like to remind the local authorities in Aleksandrovac that an open media environment, allowing for the free work of journalists, is a fundamental principle of any democratic society. SEEMO therefore hopes that the perpetrators of the attacks are swiftly brought to justice."
