Serbian Information Ministry condemns assault on reporter

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The Serbian Culture and Information Ministry condemned Thursday’s assault on a journalist reporting on the removal of graffiti in support of convicted war criminal General Ratko Mladic.

Danas daily reporter Snezana Congradin was hit on the hand by a man opposed to the removal of the graffiti. She said that the young man knocked her phone out of her hand. A video showed the incident and two men in plainclothes removing the assailant from the scene. Congradin has received threats for her reporting on human rights issues from nationalist extremists.

“The ministry states once again that all journalists and media staff should be allowed to do their jobs without impediment and that their personal safety and professional integrity should not be in jeopardy,” a press release said.

Congradin was reporting from in front of central Belgrade’s Youth Hall where the graffiti in support of Mladic was spray painted. Activists of human rights organizations washed off the letters with a strong police presence.