The case of Sonja Kamenković

Journalist N1 Sonja Kamenković worked as a correspondent for TV B92 in 2010 and lived in Zaječar. She was then reporting on the incident in Donji Milanovac, when police officer Radomir Radović from Majdanpek, off duty at that moment, broke into a local bakery and attacked the young men who happened to be there. He beat one of them and broke his arm, and according to witnesses, he put a gun in the mouth of the other. "I went to Milanovac and found an injured young man and witnesses. I filmed them, I protected the identity of some of them because my colleagues from that city told me that the policeman is known for brutality, threats and abuse of authority," says Sonja Kamenković for "Vreme". "I tried to get his statement, but he did not answer my calls and messages. I also sent questions to the police in Majdanpek."

FROM REPORTING TO THREATS

Since the report was broadcast on B92, and the texts were published in daily newspapers, the first reactions followed. "A colleague from Majdanpek called me and said that Radović was very angry and was saying that he would kill all the journalists who reported on the case," remembers Sonja Kamenković. At first, she didn't take those words seriously. However, just one day later, the mother of the injured young man told her that the police officer threatened her and her son because they gave statements to B92. "I went again to do a report on the threats, but neither the mentioned policeman nor PS Majdanpek wanted to advertise. The report was broadcast on B92 news".

After that, all the people she was in contact with while working on the story started calling Sonja Kamenković. "Everyone told me the same thing - we met Radović, he said that he would kill all journalists who tell lies about him, that he would come to Zaječar, that he would know where I live, where to find me and that he would kill me. I had Radović's mobile phone number, but I blocked it. I continued to work as if nothing was happening."

POLICE PROTECTION AND PRESSURES

Sonja Kamenković states that she continued to receive well-intentioned calls from people from Majdanpek who relayed messages from the policeman and warned her that he was a man with a very bad reputation, prone to threats and harassment, but she still did not feel fear. Soon, the B92 newsroom got involved in the story. "Veran Matić, the director of B92 at the time, called me and scolded me for not reporting the threats. I was told that I had to report such threats to the newsroom and the police, but I was young and I thought it was nothing serious."

When she went to PU Zaječar, a serious reaction followed. She was told to file a criminal complaint against the police officer, who was under the jurisdiction of the Bor Police Department, that the Zaječar Police Department had already filed a report and that due to operational knowledge of a serious danger, she would be assigned 24-hour protection. "It was explained to me that this measure would last until they were sure that the danger had passed. I didn't know exactly what that meant at first, but in practice it seemed that the patrol was constantly on duty in front of my building, and the inspectors visited me every morning and every evening. When I went to work or to filming, plainclothes inspectors followed me and monitored my every step. At first, it didn't bother me, but I didn't have any information - neither whether the police were taking action against Radovic, nor that if someone is watching him too."

The protection lasted for months, and her life changed completely. "I started to look around the street and avoid going out after dark. My son was six years old at the time and it was difficult to explain to him why the police visited us every day. He went out to play in front of the building, and I watched over him and thought that if someone really wanted to harm me, they could do it by harming my child. I reduced both my and his going out and reduced our life to only what was most necessary. The fear grew in me and the whole family. As time went on, it was more and more difficult - not only for me, but also for those closest to me."

A particularly absurd situation was when the inspectors, who visited her at home, would simply answer the question "who is it" with "the police". That was exactly what caused her extra restlessness, because Radović was also a policeman, and he could also ring the bell and introduce himself in that way.

Sonja Kamenković says that she went to the police several times, but did not get specific answers. She had strong support from the editorial and legal team of B92. At the same time, she faced additional pressures - not only from Radovic, but also from the institutions. "Two inspectors from the Bor Police Department came to question me, they urged me to withdraw the report and reveal the identity of the witness. They tried to minimize everything. I refused because the B92 legal team advised me that I was not obliged to do so."

After that came another unexpected pressure. The criminal charges filed by her, as well as by the Zaječar PU, came under the jurisdiction of the Negotin prosecutor's office because Radović was a police officer at Majdanpek Police Station, which belongs to the Bor PU. Instead of official proceedings, the prosecutor informally invited her and "advised" her to come to Negotin for an interview, with the explanation that it was "for her good". That "friendly" call had no official character. When the deadline for the prosecutor's office to decide on the criminal charges passed, Sonja Kamenković began to ask what had happened to them. She knew that Radović was initially suspended, but that he was soon reinstated. The police in Zaječar unofficially told her how they found out that the prosecutor's office rejected their report and asked her if she had received any notification. It's not - and neither are they.

In this way, the criminal charges remained without an epilogue. She never received an official notification from the prosecutor's office, and she learned unofficially that they were rejected. Her police protection was quietly terminated at one point, without a formal explanation. According to her knowledge, the only consequence for the police officer was a temporary and short-term suspension, which at that time could last a maximum of six months.

FROM ISOLATED INCIDENT TO SYSTEMIC PRACTICE

From this distance, Sonja Kamenković says that the entire case from 2010 was an isolated incident. "I had confidence in the Zaječar police and I could turn to them," she says. "However, things changed completely two years later, when the Serbian Progressive Party came to power in Zaječar." Then, he recalls, Saša Mirković, the president of the city assembly, appeared, who openly and directly threatened journalists who did not want to work the way he thought they should. Sonja Kamenković says that he personally threatened her on the phone, sent associates to intimidate her, tried to blackmail her and said he would evict her from the city. At the same time, she started her own business, but her jobs were regularly canceled as soon as she signed them. Timočka television and radio were under Mirković's control, and they continuously targeted Sonja Kamenković. "They published articles in which they attacked me, never giving me a chance to respond," she recalls. The campaign went so far that they even fabricated messages in which she allegedly asked for money to report positively on the government. Those messages were sent to B92 as "evidence" in an attempt to discredit her and force her to resign.

Mirković's example was followed by the councilors of the ruling majority in the Assembly, who insulted and attacked her, aware that they would not bear the consequences for such behavior. "Truth and justice then became imaginary categories, and lies and injustice became the dominant practice," says Sonja Kamenković. The attacks lasted for years, and the police, he says, worked in the interest of the local authorities. "It didn't occur to me to report threats. Institutions were dead, and individuals who might have wanted to help were marginalized." In 2019, she decided to leave Zaječar. "They managed to destroy my life in that city, but not my professional principles. I came to Belgrade, now I work on N1 and I don't plan to give up."

"SAFETY FOR JOURNALISTS NO LONGER EXISTS"

Sonja Kamenković's experience is no exception. She says that the safety of journalists in Serbia is being systematically undermined. "The safety of female journalists, as well as male journalists, no longer exists - unless you work in pro-regime media. Then you are allowed everything and you are protected. Otherwise, you remain alone. There may be an honorable individual in the institutions, but he has no space to help." What remains, he adds, is solidarity. "My colleagues and I have to protect each other, support each other and speak loudly about everything that is happening to us. This is the only way the public can become aware of how serious and dangerous the situation is."

According to her, the danger threatens not only journalists of independent media, but anyone who dares to express a position that is not liked by those in a position of power. "In such a system, anyone can be trampled in an instant. That's a reality we have to keep in mind."

This text was created with the financial support of the European Union. The weekly "Vreme" is solely responsible for the content of this text and under no circumstances can it be considered to reflect the views of the European Union.

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