{"id":2043,"date":"2003-06-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-06-10T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/saopstenje-povodom-zabrane-broja-lista-svedok\/"},"modified":"2021-01-20T14:04:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T13:04:59","slug":"ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights maintains that the freedom of expression has been violated by the ban on the dissemination of issue of the weekly Svedok carrying an interview with the main suspect of the Djindjic assassination, Milorad Lukovic Legija. Notwithstanding the irresponsible and sensationalist reports of this weekly, which render it unworthy of being labelled as serious media, the decision to ban the issue rendered by the District Court in Serbia is not explained convincingly and clearly and constitutes a misapplication of the Public Information Act and international human rights treaties.Prohibiting dissemination of information is one of the strictest limitations of the freedom of expression and democratic societies may resort to it only if there is strong social interest which cannot be protected in any other manner. The Court failed to be guided by these standards in the Svedok case.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Court found that \u201calthough the text does not advocate violence, that is nevertheless the context \u2013 publication of the interview in the existing social circumstances and the publicly known facts from the past of the interviewee constitute incitement to direct violence and propagation of war\u201d. However, prohibiting the dissemination of information can only pertain to information directly inciting to grounds for prohibition (e.g. violent overthrow of the constitutional order, propagation of war or violence) i.e. that the grounds for the prohibition are the direct consequence of the information. Only than can a ban be \u201cnecessary in a democratic society\u201d. By relying on the \u201ccontext\u201d in which a specific text was published, the Court misinterpreted and misapplied the standard in Art. 17 of the Public Information Act and the ECHR.<\/li>\n<li>The Court also invokes the ICCPR and ECHR, underscoring that these international treaties allow for restricting the freedom of expression. Although one can only welcome the national courts\u2019 new practice of invoking international human rights documents, one must note that the Court neither reviewed nor applied the principle of proportionality, a key issue in international provisions on restricting human rights. The Serbian Act also includes the principle and insists that the ban be \u201cnecessary in a democratic society\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Given that freedom of expression is a fundamental element of a free and democratic society, the BCHR believes that when deciding to apply serious restrictions, such as the prohibition of dissemination, courts must extremely carefully weigh whether such a measure is \u201cnecessary in a democratic society\u201d and whether the published information would directly incite to one of the grounds for prohibition. As the Svedok case shows, these conditions have not been met.<\/p>\n<p><!--:--><!--:en--><\/p>\n<p><!--:--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights maintains that the freedom of expression has been violated by the ban on the dissemination of issue of the weekly Svedok carrying an interview with the main suspect of the Djindjic assassination, Milorad Lukovic Legija. Notwithstanding the irresponsible and sensationalist reports of this weekly, which render it unworthy of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act - Beogradski centar za ljudska prava<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act - Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights maintains that the freedom of expression has been violated by the ban on the dissemination of issue of the weekly Svedok carrying an interview with the main suspect of the Djindjic assassination, Milorad Lukovic Legija. Notwithstanding the irresponsible and sensationalist reports of this weekly, which render it unworthy of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BGcentarzaljudskaprava\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2003-06-10T23:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-20T13:04:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bgcadm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bgcentar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bgcentar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bgcadm\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bgcadm\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/07280e7f644cf21c5371068fcd7951cb\"},\"headline\":\"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act\",\"datePublished\":\"2003-06-10T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-20T13:04:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":434,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act - Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2003-06-10T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-20T13:04:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Po\u010detna\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\",\"description\":\"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/bg-centar-ljudska-prava-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/bg-centar-ljudska-prava-logo.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/BGcentarzaljudskaprava\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bgcentar\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/07280e7f644cf21c5371068fcd7951cb\",\"name\":\"bgcadm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\\\/en\\\/author\\\/bgcadm\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act - Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act - Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","og_description":"The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights maintains that the freedom of expression has been violated by the ban on the dissemination of issue of the weekly Svedok carrying an interview with the main suspect of the Djindjic assassination, Milorad Lukovic Legija. Notwithstanding the irresponsible and sensationalist reports of this weekly, which render it unworthy of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/","og_site_name":"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BGcentarzaljudskaprava","article_published_time":"2003-06-10T23:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-20T13:04:59+00:00","author":"bgcadm","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bgcentar","twitter_site":"@bgcentar","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bgcadm","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/"},"author":{"name":"bgcadm","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/07280e7f644cf21c5371068fcd7951cb"},"headline":"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act","datePublished":"2003-06-10T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-20T13:04:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/"},"wordCount":434,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/","name":"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act - Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2003-06-10T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-20T13:04:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/ban-weekly-svedok-misapplication-public-information-act\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Po\u010detna","item":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ban of the weekly Svedok misapplication of the public information act"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/","name":"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","description":"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#organization","name":"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava","url":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bg-centar-ljudska-prava-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bg-centar-ljudska-prava-logo.png","width":512,"height":256,"caption":"Beogradski centar za ljudska prava"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BGcentarzaljudskaprava","https:\/\/x.com\/bgcentar"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/07280e7f644cf21c5371068fcd7951cb","name":"bgcadm","url":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/author\/bgcadm\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2043\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgcentar.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}