Kosovo: CFWIJ Concerned About The Safety Of Journalists Attacked In The Field
Location: Kosovo
Date: October 13, 2021
The Coalition For Women In Journalism expresses serious concerns about the safety of women journalists covering a protest in Serb-majority Kosovo city, North Mitrovica. At least five women journalists, among others were attacked by protesters with rocks, Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnic devices.
Several journalists were attacked by Serbs of the ethnic-divided city North Mitrovica on Tuesday, while covering a demonstration protesting the police action against smuggling goods across the country. It is reported that journalists were attacked with rocks and Molotov cocktails, which seriously endangered their well being.
CFWIJ confirmed that at least five women journalists were among those covering the protest; Blerta Ahmeti from Albanian Post, Blerta Dalloshi a correspondent of Albania’s TV Klan, Alberta Hashani a correspondent of Albania’s based Top Channel TV, Adelina Ahmeti a journalist of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Albulena Rexha from Kanal 10.
“We were covering and recording citizens of Serbian nationality while placing barricades at the entrance of “Bosniaks neighborhood” in North Mitrovica city. Serbs who were staying close to the shops where earlier Kosovo Police had an operation, started throwing pyrotechnic devices in our direction,” Blerta Ahmeti told CFWIJ.
Ahmeti said that there was a lot of commotion and they could not identify the type of devices thrown in their direction. She added that luckily none of the journalists were injured, but their work was interrupted and they had to leave the scene.
Also the local Kosovo Serb media, Kossev reported threats and attacks on them. Later they decided to withdraw journalists from the field.
Blerta Dalloshi told CFWIJ that after reporting from the same area two weeks ago she received threats from fake accounts. Messages Dalloshi shared with CFWIJ read “we are going to kill you”. She also received calls from the same Facebook accounts at 4 am.
Dalloshi was covering a blockade by local Serbs at the Kosovo-Serbia border when she started receiving death threats.
The attacks caused great concern in Kosovo's journalistic circles. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo has called on the Kosovo Police to offer proper safety for the journalists to be able to exercise their work.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity to the journalists attacked and calls on Kosovo institutions to protect them in the field. These attacks are extremely alarming and the safety of the journalists working in the region needs to be ensured urgently.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
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