The son of detained professor and activist Marija Vasić, Milan Čanak, told Mašina that no one from the main prison hospital in Belgrade is responding to the family’s inquiries, stating that “they are silent and pretend to be dead because they are ashamed of their own existence.”
Last Tuesday, Marija Vasić – one of six activists who have been detained for over two months in Novi Sad’s Klisa prison – began a hunger and thirst strike. Two days later, due to her deteriorating health, she was transferred to the prison hospital in Belgrade. According to her son Milan Čanak, neither the family nor her lawyers have received any information about her condition since then.
“Since Thursday, when we found out on our own that she is in the hospital at the central prison, we have received absolutely zero information about her. Zero. Nothing,” Čanak told Mašina.
He added that no one at the prison hospital is responding, that they remain silent and “pretend to be dead because they are ashamed of their own existence.” He also thanked everyone who came to the courthouse in Novi Sad, which has been blockaded by citizens for six days.
IV Fluids and Electrolytes in Prison Hospital
Portal 021 reported that the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions told them Marija Vasić’s health is being monitored and that all vital parameters have been tracked since she began her hunger strike. She is reportedly “receiving fluid, food, and electrolytes through IV infusion.”
According to 021, the Directorate stated that on the same day Vasić was admitted to the prison hospital, they informed the public she was in stable condition and placed on IV fluids, through which she is receiving hydration, electrolytes, and vitamin support – treatment she had refused while in pre-trial detention at the Novi Sad District Prison unit.
A Call to Judges
Provincial MP and president of the Novi Sad chapter of the Movement of Free Citizens – of which Marija Vasić and most of the detained activists are members – Radivoje Jovović told Mašina that the invitation remains open for all court employees working on the case to enter the building through the main entrance and act on the defense’s appeals. Today, the defense’s appeal was accepted and will now be officially considered by the court. The defense is requesting house arrest for the imprisoned activists.
“We received information that some cases were transferred to the misdemeanor court in Novi Sad and that judges there can also formally and legally hold sessions and make decisions on the appeals. The essential point here is that the deadline has already passed and this case must be resolved urgently. We are simply calling on the judges – all employees – to do their jobs. Nothing more. We are blockading this court nonviolently, demanding that they finally do their jobs,” Jovović said.
Organizers announced that court employees would be allowed to enter the building until 11 a.m., after which the blockade will continue. After entering the building this morning, court employees left en masse before 10:30 a.m.
“We Are Persistent, We Are Staying in Front of the Court”
The call to action was echoed yesterday by Marija Srdić of the Feminist Anti-Fascist Network (FAMa).
“We expected the judicial institutions to respond today and that we would receive information both about Marija’s condition and the appeals filed by the lawyers so that our comrades could be released,” said Srdić. She added that she hopes the judicial institutions will show understanding and allow the detainees to defend their freedom in whatever way is possible under the current circumstances.
“It’s important to emphasize that we are persistent in this demand and that we will remain in front of the court,” she told Mašina.
“We Are Defending Our Freedom”
National Assembly member from the Green-Left Front, Natalija Stojmenović, told Mašina that these events could pave the way for any dissent against the Serbian Progressive Party to be criminalized and that anyone could be the next “Lazar, Marija, Mladen, Srđan, or any of the others.”
“I believe it’s crucial to understand that today they are in detention, but tomorrow any one of us could be. Anyone who has criticized the Serbian Progressive Party or its actions in any way over the past thirteen years. So, it’s not just about defending their freedom – we are defending our own freedom, the freedom to have a say and to express how we think the state should look. Otherwise, I fear that any conversation we have could lead to us being imprisoned for more than sixty days,” said Stojmenović.
To recall, activists from the Movement of Free Citizens and the organization STAV were detained in mid-March, ahead of a major student protest in Belgrade. An audio recording of a conversation they had – which was aired on national television before their arrest – was used as alleged evidence of their attempt to overthrow the constitutional order. In addition to the six detained, six more activists currently outside the country are also being charged with the same offense.
A.M., M.M.
