Furkan Saliu, a journalist from North Macedonia, was physically attacked in the city of Kichevo by Vesna Jakimovska, an executive agent.

Yesterday, while taking a statement from Vesna Jakimovska, journalist Furkan Saliu was physically attacked by Jakimovska and suffered an injury to his hand. Also, his microphone was damaged. Saliu called the police at the scene and later gave a statement at the police station. The prosecutor from Kichevo was also informed about this event and immediate actions were taken to clear up the case.

The police detained Jakimovska yesterday, after she performed a second physical attack, this time on a police officer at the police station. Based on the official information from the Ministry of Interior Affairs, she attempted to destroy the official documentation about the attack on Saliu.

“Violence against journalists and media workers is unacceptable. I want to emphasize that according to the new amendments in Article 144 of the Criminal Code,, an attack on a journalist or media worker while they perform professional tasks is a criminal offense where the Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office are obliged to act. The prompt reaction by the institutions in this case is encouraging not only for penalizing the perpetrator but also for demotivating future attacks on the integrity of journalists”, said Dragan Sekulovski, the director of the SafeJournalists network and executive director at the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM).

The SafeJournalists network, which represents media professionals in the Western Balkans, joins its member AJM and calls on the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in North Macedonia to conduct a quick investigation and punish the attacker.

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

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

Pristina – Skopje – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Belgrade – Podgorica, 22.03.2024

Association of Journalists of Macedonia

Association of Journalists of Kosovo

BH Journalists Association

Croatian Journalists’ Association

Independent Journalists Association of Serbia

Trade Union of Media of Montenegro