Belgrade, February 22, 2024<\/p>\n
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For the past two weeks, the practice of degrading basic civil and political liberties has continued.<\/p>\n
The pressures to which the local media are exposed testify to the particular degree of threat to the freedom of expression that the government is trying to stifle in every corner of the country. Thus, according to the decision of the Provisional Authority of the City of Kragujevac, the cameraman of the portal Glas \u0160umadije was forbidden to broadcast the constitutive session of the City Assembly. Since the beginning of the year, this is the third decision that prevents the media from reporting on assembly sessions. This trend of denying accreditation is a form of censorship that prevents citizens from being informed about the work of local authorities and politicians elected to top city positions.<\/p>\n
In the building where the premises of RTV M from Knja\u017eevac are located, an unknown person cut the optical cables, as a result of which the program of this television was not broadcast for 4 days. The owner of RTV M, Milan Petrovi\u0107, stated that they had been exposed to attacks before, when the property of this media was destroyed, and that in those situations the perpetrators were not found.<\/p>\n
Examples of violations of the freedom of assembly and association were recorded in the observed period.<\/p>\n
Private security clashed with tenants of New Belgrade, who have been protesting against the construction of a multi-storey building on a green area in Block 63 for several days. Citizens are protesting against the increasingly established practice of expanding investor urbanism to the detriment of green areas, parks, and public interest.<\/p>\n
The PKC company fired the president of the Sloga trade union in that company, Dragan Vudrag, and the president of the strike committee, Ivan Ivkovi\u0107, who pointed to the disrespect of workers’ rights in this company.<\/p>\n