Journalists detained at rallies in Skopje and Kocani for filming with drones
Seven journalists and media workers were detained at the "Centar" police station tonight for using drones to film a gathering in memory of the victims of the Kocani tragedy, which was held at Macedonia Square, announced “Independent". Among those detained is a journalist from the Reuters agency.
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Immediately after the rally ended, the media workers were summoned to the police station to give statements. The explanation was that they were at the station because they were broadcasting the event live on Facebook with drone footage. This evening, according to information from Nezavisen, inspectors from the National Security Agency also came to the station, who questioned their fellow journalists.
In Kochani, police also detained journalists from the Bulgarian television station BTV, also for flying a drone. A Reuters colleague says she has never seen anything like this anywhere in the world.
"Last week I flew a drone on the front line in Ukraine, before that I flew a drone in Greenland where I followed the elections that decided the future of the island. I've never seen anything like this before, I've never seen anything like this anywhere in the world," the Reuters journalist told "Nezavisen".
The Ministry of Interior announced late this afternoon that the Civil Aviation Agency had banned the use of drones for filming over Kocani and Shtip. The explanation given to the journalists who were detained tonight was that the ban on the use of drones by journalistic teams applied to the whole of Macedonia. None of the media outlets were notified in a timely manner that such a ban was in effect.
"The Ministry of Interior informs citizens and all users of unmanned aircraft, i.e. drones, that the Civil Aviation Agency has imposed a ban on any operations with drones on the territory of the cities of Kocani and Shtip. The unauthorized, uncoordinated operation of these aircraft not only endangers air traffic, but can cause serious consequences for the lives and property of third parties on the ground. Operating drones in prohibited zones is grounds for initiating a sanctioning procedure in accordance with the Aviation Law," the Ministry of Interior announced.
