UNS and DNKiM: Kosovo police must stop harassing journalists from Serbian newsrooms

The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS), together with its Kosovo and Metohija branch (DNKiM), has issued a protest over the Kosovo police’s decision to prohibit Radio Gorazdevac journalist Damjan Portic from filming the removal of graffiti from a building in the town, checking his ID, and subsequently ordering him to leave the public area, UNS reported.

Journalist Damjan Portic told UNS that near the church in Gorazdevac, workers hired by the municipality of Pec, under the supervision of Kosovo police officers, painted over a wall previously covered in various graffiti, and that he went to the scene to document the activity.

“Two uniformed and two plainclothes officers asked for my ID and then verbally attacked me, ordering me to leave the scene with words like ‘get out of here,’ ‘beat it,’ and ‘go away.’ One of the Kosovo police officers tried to stop me from taking photos, citing the law, even though the event was taking place in a public area,” Portic stated.

He added that he was not given any explanation as to why he was not allowed to film and said this was an attempt to restrict a journalist’s right to freely perform their job.

UNS and DNKiM are demanding that those officers who prevented the journalist from doing his job be held accountable, and they are calling for an end to the pressure on journalists from Serbian-language media outlets.

UNS and DNKiM emphasized that such treatment of media workers is unacceptable and reminded the public that filming in public spaces is permitted and must not be hindered in any way.