A man accused of assaulting a CBC camera operator in 2022 received a suspended sentence and one year’s probation in a Surrey, B.C., court on Tuesday.
In sentencing Vojislav Zmukic, 58, Judge Delaram Jahani acknowledged the defence’s request that Zmukic be discharged without a conviction but said his punishment must serve, in part, to deter others from assaulting journalists.
“Everyone is entitled to feel safe in their place of work, wherever they may be,” she said.
Court heard how, on Feb. 19, 2022, a CBC camera operator and reporter headed to report on a rally supporting the Freedom Convoy near the Pacific Highway Border crossing in Surrey when Zmukic and other protesters swarmed the journalists.
Jahani said she factored the vulnerability of the camera operator, who was carrying nine kilograms of camera equipment, into the sentence.
Zmukic must abide by court-ordered conditions that include regular meetings with a probation officer and 50 hours of community service. He must not come within 100 metres of the camera operator.
Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, said the sentence sends the right message.
“Assaulting a journalist for the simple act of doing their job is unacceptable under any circumstance,” he said in an email.
“We hope that judgments, such as this one, will help to signify that threatening or harassing journalists is beyond the pale and that signify to others that any actions that break the law will be met with proper punishment.”
Chuck Thompson, CBC’s head of public affairs, said the corporation would not comment on the outcome of the case.
“Needless to say, the safety and well-being of our journalists remains a top priority,” Thompson said in an email. “As it was on Feb. 19th, 2022, the work they do every day in the field is important and, unfortunately, can also be dangerous.”
Reporting on Freedom Convoy protests
The 2022 protest was one of several held across the country, including in Ottawa and at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta, sparked by anger over vaccine mandates and other restrictions.
The camera operator was carrying equipment toward the rally when the pair was approached by several protesters.
One protester blocked the camera operator’s way with an umbrella. The camera person moved out of the way, but another protester pushed the camera, knocking the operator off balance.
Then, two protesters, including Zmukic, spat on the camera operator. Zmukic filmed the incident and continued recording as police intervened and the journalists were taken behind police lines.
Zmukic pleaded guilty to assault in June.
The judge said there was no evidence the journalists were at the protest to report on it in bad faith or to oppose the protesters.
“[The camera operator] was not an authority or antagonistic,” Jahani said. “Instead, he was there to facilitate the broadcast and communication of their views.”
The defence asked for a one-year conditional discharge instead of a conviction, which it said would prevent Zmukic from travelling into the U.S. and to Serbia to visit his mother.
The defence submitted several character references that Zmukic was a hard-working welder and an upstanding member of the local Serbian community who was regularly involved in events at his church.
He had no prior criminal record and has been gainfully employed since coming to Canada in 2002.
Zmukic also submitted an apology to the court, the camera operator, and the CBC, stating that he was “extremely remorseful.”
Judges in the province have previously granted conditional discharges to people accused of spitting on those in the public service.
However, Jahani said the accused in these cases were intoxicated, young, or managing mental illness. She said Zmukic was of sound mind when he spat on the camera operator.
She added the court was not aware of any way the conviction would prevent Zmukic’s travel to Serbia.