“Served with bread and shepherds’ cheese, hit by agitators.” The account of one of the journalists assaulted in Victoriei Square and CJI’s message to the authorities / At least seven reporters attacked in total

Gabriel Kolbay, a journalist for București.ro, was one of the journalists assaulted by the agitators who hijacked Tuesday’s farmers’ protest in Victory Square, and he recounts the difference in attitude between the shepherds and those who caused chaos in front of the Government building. In total, at least seven reporters were attacked by agitators, which is why the Center for Independent Journalism is drawing attention to a climate that risks normalizing violence against journalists.

Kolbay recounts how, while present in Victory Square to report on the protest, he was invited by several shepherds from Bistrița to eat bread and cheese with them, while they emphasized: “Can you get in among them? He’ll hit you in the head and might even kill you here. We’re keeping quiet...”

At one point, after leaving the shepherds and finding himself in the middle of the crowd, the journalist says he was assaulted and his camera was destroyed.

“I was singled out, followed, and hit. I dropped my camera, which was smashed to pieces,” Gabriel Kolbay, whose report can be read on Facebook, wrote. His report can be read on București.ro.

Earlier, a Snoop journalist was hit over the camera while filming protesters who were throwing stones at a police barrier, while a Realitatea Plus crew was shoved by several men with their faces covered.

According to the NGO Center for Independent Journalism (CJI), Cristiana Chițu and Ruben Lighezan of Realitatea TV were also assaulted and required medical attention, while from Recorder, Anna Constantin was verbally abused and sexually harassed, and David Muntean was assaulted.

A climate that risks normalizing violence against journalists

CJI accuses repeated campaigns to discredit the press of risking the normalization of violence against journalism.

“The assaults continue the series of attacks at protests by the sovereignist movement in 2024 and 2025. Repeated campaigns to discredit the press and hate speech turn journalists into targets and restrict freedom of expression,” CJI states in the appeal also signed by ActiveWatch, the Association for Technology and the Internet, and the Fourth Power Alliance.

CJI calls on the authorities and political class “to firmly and publicly condemn” the assaults against journalists, while also appealing to law enforcement to protect journalists and sanction the attackers.