We expect that Serbian judicial authorities investigate, in addition to hate speech from media articles, also how it is possible that organisation “Zavetnici” acts as infantry of the hate speech campaign and places posters at the entrance of the House of Human Rights and Democracy in Belgrade, labelling Nataša Kandić as a traitor. It is a devastating fact that the police did not even show up in spite of being called by organisations working the House of Human Rights and Democracy. One should remember that the Humanitarian Law Centre and Nataša Kandić gave enormous contribution to justice by shedding light on and revealing war crimes (which should be primarily a job of prosecutor’s offices), while judicial authorities should apply law in this and similar cases.
The condemnation of threats and support to Nataša Kandić by Prime Minister and the President of the Republic are the only possible and responsible actions to be taken if the policy of this country is the policy of peace and stability in the region, as repeated countless times so far. The policy of denial of crimes by the Republic of Serbia must be stopped by at least condemning threats towards a person who gave such a great contribution to revealing and investigating war crimes, dealing only with victims in the times when all the others were strictly silent in that respect.
Instead of supporting the candidateship for an important prize as is the award for 25 years of dedicated work on documenting crimes, Nataša Kandić, as many times so far, is being humiliated by tabloids in articles stating that “she supported terrorists”, in which she is called “Shiptar woman” and where a space is given to Vojislav Šešelj to say “Kandić should be impaled”.
YIHR strongly condemns threats and hate speech towards Natasa Kandic in todays’ dailies, led by “Vecernje novosti”, “Informer” and “Srpski telegraf”, as well as the placing of posters in the House of Human Rights and Democracy by “Zavetnici”. Let us remind, the President of the US Helsinki Committee, Congressman Rodger Wicker and Eliot Engel, member of the US Congress Committee for Foreign Affairs nominated the founder of the Humanitarian Law Centre for Nobel Peace Prize for 2018.
