Statement: Police Ban Pride Caravan in Pirot; Journalists from Mašina, Tampon Zona, and N1 Attacked

On Saturday, shortly before the scheduled Pride Caravan protest in Pirot, we received verbal information from the Pirot Police Department that our public assembly was being banned on security grounds.

Da se zna! strongly condemns the decision of the Pirot Police Department to ban the Pride Caravan. Instead of arresting and prosecuting the assembled hooligans for the criminal offence of endangering public safety, the police allowed them to directly threaten the lives and safety of activists and journalists.

A large group of hooligans and extremists gathered at the location where the Pride Caravan was to take place, chanting homophobic slogans and declaring that there was no place for us in their city. The group threatened Mašina journalist Aleksandar Đokić and Tampon Zona journalist Sara Stanojković, shoving them, while N1 journalist Gordana Bjeletić was struck in the head.

Da se zna! demands the immediate dismissal of the Head of the Pirot Police Department for failing to ensure the safety of the public assembly in accordance with the law and for allowing journalists to be attacked. The ban on the Pride Caravan in Pirot constitutes a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and international human rights conventions.

Da se zna! will also bring this matter to the attention of international organisations.