The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights condemns the latest statement by the Director General of the National Television of Serbia , Mr. Aleksandar Tijanić, against the President of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Ms. Biljana Kovačević-Vučo. The Centre holds that his statement is uncivilized and not acceptable from the the director of a public institution which should be a public service for all citizens. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the assault by a masked attacker on Ms. Svetlana Đorđević, which took place on the 27th June in her house in Vranje. She is the author of the book “Testimony on Kosovo”, which describes crimes that the police have committed in Kosovo during the war. She has been the subject of continuous intimidation since her appearance on the B92 television channel last year. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights welcomes the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which are in accordance with international standards. Although adopted without public discussion, these legal changes lead to the improvement of the work of the courts and consequently to the efficient protection of individuals. An especially important amendment abolishes the institution of mandatory detention (Art. 142 (1)), which mandated detention of any person suspected of having committed a criminal offence for which the prescribed penalty was forty years imprisonment. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights expresses its concern at the high level of hatred towards minorities in our society, particularly the frequent eruptions of intolerance towards Roma people. The latest examples of this are racist inscriptions displayed in Novi Sad, Niš and Zemun, including allegations of threats to which the members of Roma people are exposed. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights considers the “Law on the Rights of the Accused in Custody of the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague and Members of their Families”, which was adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia on 30 March 2004, as discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional and harmful. This Law obviously violates Art. 3 of the Charter on Human Rights of Serbia and Montenegro, Arts. 13 and 22 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and provisions prohibiting discrimination in international treaties ratified by our country (Art. 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Art. 26 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Namely, this new law grants to the persons accused before ICTY rights which are not guaranteed to citizens indicted before national courts, irrespective of the alleged criminal offence. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights expresses its concern regarding the raid of the military police in the premises of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. The position of the military judiciary in the legal system of Serbia and Montenegro is totally unclear. Namely, Article 66 of the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro has transferred the competencies of military courts and prosecutors to the organs of member states. Article 65 determines that member states should adapt their legislation to the Charter within 6 months. Article 24 of the Implementing Act of the Constitutional Charter provides that military judiciary will continue to exist until the adoption of a law provided for in article 66 of the Charter and mandates that this law should be past within 6 months. This law has not been adopted yet. (more…)
