Youth Initiative for Human Rights once again draws the attention of the domestic and international public to the increase in the number of cases of threats, physical and verbal violence to which rebellious citizens, especially students and representatives of opposition political parties in Serbia, have been exposed in recent days. We demand from the prosecutor’s office to investigate these attacks without delay, and from the regulatory bodies to protect citizens from persecution by the authorities.

While representatives of the authorities call for dialogue, police and parapolice forces, despite the appeal of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, continue to stifle the freedoms and rights of government critics. We point out the continued use of excessive police force, this time against citizens who peacefully demonstrated in front of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade on the evening of April 16 due to suspected irregularities during the counting of votes in the elections for members of the Student Parliament.

The intervention of the police followed after one person from the group led by Bojan Borovčanin broke the glass in the building of the Faculty of Medicine. Borovčanin then attacked student Davud Delimeđac, who asked him if he was ashamed of what the group he led had done. Borovčanin is a member of the National Corporate Security Association and a frequent guest of the pro-regime TV Informer.

We draw attention to the fact that after the violence during the local elections, the practice of intimidation of opposition representatives continued, an example being the threats addressed to Peter Červenek, councilor of the Green Left Front from Bačka Topola. On April 16, a message was left on the door of his apartment that convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić is a hero. Such threats have the authority’s signature if one takes into account the continuous glorification of Mladić and the denial of the crimes for which he was convicted, as shown by the recent announcement by the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujić, who calls Mladić a general, but not a war criminal.

On April 17, the Movement for the People and the State based in Nis falsely accused our alumni Mateja Nikolić of attacking Professor Aleksandra Zarubica. In a public place, Nikolić asked Professor Zarubica if she was ashamed of participating in the formation of the illegal Faculty of Serbian Studies in Nis. The Movement for the People and the State argues that he was a participant at the Youth Summit, a regional gathering of young people that we have been organizing for more than 15 years. 

These examples of violence and threats, along with the suppression of independent media, pressure on the judiciary and trampling on the autonomy of universities, aim to intimidate citizens, especially young people who have raised their voices against crime and corruption in the context of the upcoming early parliamentary elections. 

 

That is why we ask the prosecutor’s office in Serbia to urgently take all the necessary actions in order to finally stop the violence in Serbia, while we request the Protector of Citizens to review the actions of the police.