The SafeJournalists Network strongly condemns the physical attack on ZOOMER portal correspondent Aleksa Nikolić, who was injured while reporting from a public gathering in Niš, near a stand of supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in front of the National Theatre.
Nikolić was filming the stand of SNS supporters and, after finishing the recording, started crossing the street to continue his journalistic work and document the situation at the students’ stand. At that moment, one of four or five heavily built young men standing on the traffic island in Vožda Karađorđa Street threw an oval ceramic-metal object at him, striking him in the temple. Following the attack, the perpetrator pulled up his hood to conceal his face, while another person showed the journalist the middle finger and shouted insults at him: “Get lost, you fucking faggot.”
The journalist approached police officers who were present at the scene, but they refused to intervene and referred him to the commander of the Medijana Police Station. After Nikolić gave a statement, he underwent a medical examination accompanied by the police, where he was diagnosed with minor head injuries.
An attack on a journalist carrying out his professional duties is an unacceptable act of violence and a direct threat to journalists’ safety, media freedom and the public’s right to be informed. No journalist should be subjected to physical violence, threats or intimidation for reporting on matters of public interest, regardless of their political or social context. The continued passive response of the police in situations where journalists are subjected to physical attacks and threats is particularly concerning.
The SafeJournalists Network calls on the police and the competent prosecutor’s office to take, without delay, all necessary measures to establish the identity of the attacker as soon as possible, bring the perpetrator to justice and ensure that they are appropriately sanctioned in accordance with the law. We expect the competent authorities to act urgently, diligently and effectively, in accordance with the binding instruction on handling cases of attacks against journalists, which requires an immediate response.
We also recall that the police have an obligation to enable journalists to carry out their professional duties without obstruction and to protect them when their safety is at risk. Protecting journalists is not a matter of the goodwill of individual police officers, but an institutional obligation and one of the prerequisites for safeguarding freedom of expression and citizens’ right to timely and objective information. It is the responsibility of the institutions to treat such cases seriously, prevent their recurrence and send a clear message that attacks against journalists will not go unpunished.
We call on all political actors and participants in the electoral process to send a clear message to their members, activists and supporters that pressure on journalists is unacceptable and that the media must be allowed to carry out their work without obstruction.
Every attack on journalists is an attack on democracy, the public interest and fundamental human rights.
Pristina – Skopje – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Belgrade – Podgorica – Tirana, 9. October 2026
Association of Journalists of Albania
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
BH Journalists Association
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
