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Protests in Serbia Archive
NGO Information Center Communiqe 12

NGO INFORMATION CENTRE
Avalska 9, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
tel/fax ++ 381 11 444 39 44, 444 14 87, 432 572, 635 813
e-mail: hlc@EUnet.yu

Humanitarian Law Center
Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
Council for Human Rights - CAA
Group 484

The NGO Information Center was established on 5 December 1996 to regularly monitor and report human rights violations in Serbia during the massive protests against the annulment and/or alteration of the results of the recent local elections. The Center comprises four non-governmental human rights organizations - The Humanitarian Law Center, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Group 484 and the Council for Human Rights (CAA). The NGO Information Center is based at the Humanitarian Law Center, Avalska 9, Belgrade.
For more information, please call the NGO Information Center.

COMMUNIQE # 12
19 December 1996

A statement released by the Belgrade Police Department on 3 December 1996 says that "acts of destruction and violence by demonstrators in the past few days have resulted in major damage to property and disturbance of the public peace." The statement specifies that "32 persons have been arrested for savage assaults on the property of companies and other organizations and on private property... Criminal proceedings have been initiated against 10 persons, and 22 persons have been charged with misdemeanors."

According to information collected by the NGO Information Center up to 19 December 1996 and confirmed by several independent sources, 24 protesters have been sentenced to prison terms for disturbing the public peace. Seventeen participants in the Belgrade demonstrations and two from Jagodina (central Serbia) were sentenced for misdemeanors under articles 7 and 12 of the Law on the Public Peace. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against four protesters on charges of participation in mob violence (Article 230, para. 1, Serbian Criminal Code). They are:

  1. Ivan Urosevic (19), law student, from Belgrade, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to 10 days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 10 December;
  2. Dragan Brainovic (30), refugee from Tuzla (BH), sentenced to 15 days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 18 December;
  3. Darko Pajko (23), from Becej, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  4. Oliver Pajko (21), from Becej, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  5. Aleksandar "Sasa" Petrovic (22), dentistry student in Novi Sad, from Becej, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  6. Zeljko Ozegovic, from Belgrade, elected Novi Beograd municipal councilman on Zajedno coalition list, arrested 1 December 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  7. Sasa Protic (24), from Belgrade, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to 10 days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 10 December;
  8. Dusan Sugin (18), from Belgrade, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to 10 days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 10 December;
  9. Dragan Petkovic (21), from Belgrade, arrested 1 December in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  10. Lambros Hudeludis (34), from Pancevo, dual Greek-Yugoslav citizenship, arrested 30 November in Belgrade, sentenced to 25 days (misdemeanor), serving sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela);
  11. Branislav Ramjanc (23), from Pancevo, student of political sciences, arrested 30 November 1996, sentenced to 25 days (misdemeanor), serving sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela);
  12. Jovica "Dzibra" Cvetkovic (30), from Jagodina, arrested 3 December 1996 in Jagodina, sentenced to 20 days (misdemeanor), serving sentence in the Jagodina prison;
  13. Zoran Petrovic (22), from Jagodina, arrested 3 December 1996 in Jagodina, sentenced to 10 days (misdemeanor), served sentenced in Jagodina prison, released 8 December;
  14. Ivan Veselinovic (about 20), from Belgrade, arrested 1 December 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentenced in Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  15. Dejan Bulatovic (21), from Sid, arrested 5 December 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to 25 days (misdemeanor), serving sentence in Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela);
  16. Goran Marinkovic (23), from Belgrade, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to 30 days (misdemeanor), serving sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela);
  17. Nebojsa Svetozarevic (about 23), from Backa Topola, arrested 1 December 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela) together with Dragan Petkovic, released 7 December;
  18. Srdjan Krstic (about 22), from Novi Sad, arrested 30 November 1996 in Belgrade, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  19. Zoran Matic (about 45-47), from Belgrade, arrested 1 December 1996, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela) together with Dragan Petkovic, released 7 December;
  20. Dobrivoje Djosev, from Belgrade, arrested 30 November 1996, sentenced to seven days (misdemeanor), served sentence in the Belgrade District Prison (Padinska Skela), released 7 December;
  21. Marko Grihovic (18), from Belgrade, arrested 29 November 1996 in Belgrade; on the basis of criminal charges filed by the Belgrade Police Department, the 1st Municipal Public Prosecutor's office requested an investigation against Grihovic for alleged participation in mob violence (Art. 230, para. 1, Serbian Criminal Code); investigative judge Gordana Sulajic ordered investigatory proceedings and released Grihovic pending trial; preliminary hearing scheduled for 20 December;
  22. Balsa Radulovic (18), from Belgrade, arrested in Belgrade, criminal charges filed; investigative judge Gordana Sulajic ordered investigatory proceedings and released Radulovic pending trial; preliminary hearing scheduled for 20 December;
  23. Raka Jovanovic (18), from Belgrade, arrested in Belgrade, criminal charges filed; investigative judge Gordana Sulajic ordered investigatory proceedings and released Radulovic pending trial; preliminary hearing scheduled for 20 December;
  24. Zivan Ljubinkovic (56), arrested 28 November 1996 in Belgrade, criminal charges filed; investigative judge Gordana Sulajic ordered investigatory proceedings and released Radulovic pending trial.
Five convicted protesters are still serving sentence, four in the Padinska Skela prison in Belgrade and one in Jagodina.

Natasa Kandic, director of the Humanitarian Law Center, spoke with Dejan Bulatovic, a participant in the Belgrade protests who was subjected to severe physical abuse. The meeting took place on 18 December 1996 at the Padinska Skela section of the Belgrade District Prison where Bulatovic is serving sentence, without the presence of a prison guard or official. Bulatovic's lawyers met separately with their client but a prison official was present during that meeting. With regard to Bulatovic's physical appearance, traces of injuries are still visible: a swelling on the back of his neck, a noticeably swollen nose, and recent dental work to repair his broken teeth. Most concerning is Bulatovic's feeling of fear. It is caused by recurring dreams of the night between 5/6 December at the Belgrade Police Department when a younger police officer, with light hair and of medium height, ordered him to face the wall and to drop his trousers. The officer then drove a rubber club up Bulatovic's anus, saying, "This is so you can see what you did with the President," and paying no heed to Bulatovic's moans and words, "I was only carrying an effigy."

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