

We demand freedom for Igor, Vladimir and Mario and sanctions for the police and all participants of this illegal, rigged and inhumane implementation of the court procedure!, states the Roof in the mentioned press release.The Sociological Scientific Society of Serbia (SNDS) also issued a statement against the arrest of their member, Vladimir Mentus. Police actions and court proceedings done in this fashion represent flagrant violation of human rights, undermine the legal system of the Republic of Serbia and represent another example of usurpation of institutions, the SNDS stated. In response to all this, the Roof called citizens to join them in “Protest for the release of all political prisoners”, in front of Central Prison in Belgrade. A few hundred people attended the protest, together with representatives of political and activist organizations who supported the Roof’s demands, including Ne davimo Beograd initiative (NDMBG) Socialdemocratic Union (SDU), Marx21.
We hope that this form of pressure will contribute to the release of all prisoners, stated Dobrica Veselinovic from Ne davimo Beograd through a live broadcast by the Roof.Just a few days ago another activist of the Roof, Miran Pogacar, spent 48 hours in prison in Novi Sad. He was arrested under suspicion that he had behaved violently and called for violence at the protest, although video footage exists which proves otherwise. Today Pogacar addressed the public via Facebook live broadcast. He stated that he found it to be strange that the police in Novi Sad didn’t guard public property that much, and in his opinion let the protesters express their anger by through demolishing it, only to start apprehending people afterwards. A few protesters also stated that they believed the police made arrests in order to fear people into obedience. Activists of the Roof and SDU chanted a short anti-government song in front of the Central prison:
You crooks have taken and sold, the shirts off our broken backs, our schools, our industry, our health and pension insurance, but we’re coming to take it back!”
Translation from Serbian and extended by Iskra Krstić.