The Serbian government had withdrawn the draft law on internal affairs at the request of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, following consultations with Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic, it was said in a statement on Dec. 26.
“In line with the talks the prime minister has held with relevant organizations over the past few days, the draft law on internal affairs will be undergoing further revisions through broad consultation. The goal is to remove all the doubts of the public and to make all understand the purpose of this legal document which is of special importance for security of all Serbia’s citizens,” the statement said.
BCHR and other non-governmental organizations and experts have criticized the draft law for authorizing police to enter and search homes without a warrant and allowing biometric mass surveillance, but also for giving too many powers to the police minister compared to the powers of the police director.
Vladica Ilić from the BCHR during a short public hearing, pointed out some controversial provisions: Article 15 of the Draft Law stipulates that “If the Government deems that public order and peace cannot be protected otherwise, it may order the minister to order the police to prohibit movement in a certain public place.”
Because the Government is left to assess (as in the case of the Pride Parade) when it can order a prohibition of movement. The draft law envisioned that the police could detain and arrest any “person who does not respond to a police summons.” The threat to citizens is expanded by the provision that provides for the indefinite detention of persons outside the premises of the MUP without a decision on detention. (Article 81) It is said that this detention lasts until the search is completed.
There is no doubt that the practice of detaining “suspicious persons” or politically inconvenient for the authorities continues. The withdrawn Draft Law, as well as the current law, does not provide sufficient guarantees for the protection of citizens from torture and other forms of ill-treatment by police officers. Especially when it comes to the interrogating and questioning of persons in police premises, so there were no provisions on the recording of interrogations even though the international bodies made it very clear to Serbia that it should be included in the law.
“Another aspect of this right is impunity for officials, short statutes of limitation for acts of police torture, no mandatory suspension and dismissal for officials responsible for those acts.”
During the hearing, the presence of a trusted person is not foreseen, which is very important, among other things, for the protection of citizens from torture”, indicates Vladica Ilić.
