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Press Release:
The BCSP condemns the physical attack on journalist Vuk Cvijić
The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy strongly condemns the physical attack on Vuk Cvijić, an investigative journalist and member of the Civil Committee for the protection of human rights defenders and whistleblowers of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.
Vuk Cvijić was attacked by Milan Lađević, the director and editor of the “Serbian Telegraph” tabloid, who first insulted him and then knocked him to the ground with a punch. We believe that the articles he has been writing for years about the connections between organised crime and the government in Serbia, for which he received the most prestigious journalism awards, were in direct connection with the attack.
This unacceptable act of violence only confirms the terrifying fact that the representatives of the pro-regime tabloids, who until now were the major promoters of violence, have now become the perpetrators of that very violence. We demand from the police and the prosecutor’s office to react urgently and to punish the perpetrator of this act of violence the most severely.
A physical attack on a journalist who is doing his job professionally should be a red flag and a final warning to the international community to do something about this issue.
Constant attempts to intimidate all journalists who dare to write about the abuses and connections of members of the political elite with organised crime have now escalated into outright violence, and this act is one in a series of recent attacks on independent journalists and free speech in the country.
Vuk Cvijić is one of us, and this attack is an attack on us all!
Belgrade, May 29, 2024.
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