Three people physically attacked journalist and head of Gazeta Metro, Valon Syla, in Pristina on Tuesday evening. 

Syla was attacked after his appearance on Television 7, where he debated at a panel about the trial of former leaders of the Liberation Army of Kosovo in The Hague.

The assault has been reported to the Kosovo Police and Syla received medical treatment at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo.

For the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), this attack against Syla is totally unacceptable and a serious attempt to hinder and weaken freedom of expression and media in Kosovo. “We are deeply shocked by the brutal assault on Valon. This is one of the worst attacks which aims to silence journalists, and it has no place in a democracy that we are trying to build in Kosovo. It is high time for all relevant security and justice actors to do a swift, effective job in holding those responsible to account for this despicable act.”, said Xhemajl Rexha, chairman of the board of AJK.

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) also condemned the violent attack on the journalist.

The SafeJournalists network, which represents more than 8.200 media professionals in the Western Balkans, joins the condemnation of this attack and calls on the competent authorities to immediately find and arrest the responsible for the attack. We call on the Kosovo authorities to condemn such attacks and demonstrate that they care about freedom of the press.

SafeJournalists Network will inform relevant national and international stakeholders about this case.

Each attack on journalists is an attack on public interest, democracy and rights of all citizens.

Skopje – Belgrade – Podgorica – Pristina – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Tirana, 12.04.2023

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