The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights on 7 December filed a criminal report against Topola Mayor Dragan Jovanović for committing the offence incriminated by Article 387(2) of the Criminal Code (racial and other discrimination) by interrupting the promotion of the radio show Peščanik (Hourglass) and the statements he subsequently made. (more…)
On 6 November 2007 the European Court of Human Rights rendered a judgment in favor of Mr. Zoran Lepojic, who was represented by the legal team of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, finding that Serbian courts violated his right to freedom of expression. Namely, Mr. Lepojic, who was an official of the Demo-Christian Party of Serbia, was convicted of criminal and civil defamation of the Mayor of the Babusnica municipality, for publishing a critical newsletter article during an election campaign. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) condemns the terrorist attempt to assassinate journalist Dejan Anastasijević and his family and calls on all state bodies to take the issue seriously and conduct a speedy and effective investigation into the incident. It is not difficult to surmise who may have been so irritated by Anastasijević’s investigative reports which he has professionally and courageously focussed on throughout his career. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights calls on all competent bodies to take all necessary measures to prevent the imprisonment of journalist Željko Bodrožić, who has for years been exposed to harassment and human rights violations by the courts sentencing him for his reporting on political and other forms of abuse in Kikinda, Vojvodina and Serbia. Like many other journalists, Željko Bodrožić was persecuted during Milošević’s totalitarian regime. As opposed to many others, his manner of reporting did not change when that regime was toppled; he, perhaps naively, continued believing that human rights violations, abuse of the judiciary and self-humiliation of the judges in Serbia could not go on forever. Journalists are still convicted to prison sentences in Kikinda and Serbia, although seven years have passed since Milošević was ousted. The values of that regime are still upheld by some judges, with the tacit or explicit support of some ministers. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights calls on all competent bodies to urgently identify and prosecute all persons who brutally beat up the three Novi Sad Youth Theatre actors in the night of 5/6 February 2006. The Novi Sad city authorities must finally address the problems in the Theatre that arose because the Theatre Director enjoying their support has been applying despotic measures to control the theatre, the actors and staff of which have opposed his management and work methods. (more…)
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and all other state bodies to fully investigate and punish the perpetrators of the horrendous murder of the Roma boy in the Belgrade suburb of Boljevci. Unfortunately, this is not the first time such a crime has been committed in Belgrade or in other parts of Serbia. The police and judiciary are prone to qualifying such crimes as juvenile delinquency, motivated by the perpetrators’ desire to rob the victim or their wantonness. (more…)
