16 minutes agoBelgian journalist threatened with expulsion from Serbia, questioned by BIA
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Belgian journalist Philip Bertinchamps, who operates in Belgrade, from where he reports about “Le Courier des Balkans”, “Mediapart”, “Liberty”, “RFI”, “RTBF”, “Le Soir”, “La Tribune de Geneve” and other French media are threatened with expulsion from Serbia's Interior Ministry, with the pretext that it is “obstruction for public order and national security”. Foreign Ministry [...]
The foreign ministry has rejected Bertinchamps' request to get residence permit in Serbia, despite his marrying a woman with Serbian citizenship.
The organisation “Reporters Without Borders” has written that Serbia's claims on Belgian journalist have not been recorded and have no basis, writes Periscope. He, so far, has been questioned twice by the Agency for Intelligence of Serbia (BIA) in “in deep 48x4>. For the first time, he was asked by BIA in April 2017, shortly after the last presidential election he has covered as a journalist.
In view of the disturbing situation of media freedom in Serbia, where independent journalists are targeted by physical and verbal violence and hate campaigners from the pro-government media, we believe that this case, as an urgent matter, should be brought to the attention of the Serbian, European and international public”, writes “Reporters without Borders”, Periscope reports.
Bertinchamps has covered Serbia and the Western Balkans in the last ten years, and he has always shown professionalism in his reports, said the response of “Reporters without Borders”.
Belgian journalist is married to a Serbian woman who works as a photographer, with whom they have a five-year-old daughter. /Periscopi/
