Seven days since activist Ivan Bjelić has been detained, there is no prospect that he will be released soon. The same applies to other activists and politicians who had been detained at the same gathering. As his lawyer previously stated, he is charged with the criminal offense of violent behavior at a sporting event or public gathering.
After the detention of the activists, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that among them was I.B. (26), who is suspected of inserting an ignited explosive device into the interior of the City Hall through a broken window.
Thirty days long detention
After the initial detention of 48 hours, Bjelić’s detention was extended to 30 days. On that occasion, lawyer Ninić stated that the extension of custody was determined on the basis of “the possibility of repeating the crime for which he is charged and because of public disturbance.” According to Ninić. the defense believes,that none of these reasons are valid for ordering custody. Although an appeal was filed against this decision and the legal deadlines for the judge to give an answer to the appeal has passed, there is no change in Bjelić’s status.
Lawyer Ivan Ninić wrote on the social network X: “Ivan Bjelić is a political prisoner! The 48-hour deadline for resolving the detention appeal passed on Sunday evening! The judges who disregard the deadlines face no consequences for their decisions. Are these the institutions we should trust? No thanks!”
Attorney Ninić: The Prosecution chose a qualification of the crime that is much harsher than the basic form of the crime
At the press conference held after the extension of Bjelić’s detention, Ninić stated: “I think that this decision was not made in this courthouse, that this decision was not influenced by factors that decide in the judicial branch of government, but that this decision was made by the executive branch – as announced by the President of the Republic, who said that the rioters will be punished; but not the rioters that he brought, that he organized. Instead, they are looking for a scapegoat, someone whose example would serve to show the ability and determination of the state to oppose any protests. I think that Ivan Bjelić is someone who symbolizes civil protests, symbolizes environmental protests, and I think that the regime wants to send a message to young people and people, the people who took to the streets and those who could join the protests in the coming period”.
Previously, Ninić also stated that “The prosecution is going with the initial qualification, which is much more serious than the basic form of that criminal offense so that the prison sentence for the cited paragraph is from three years to 12 years in prison.”
According to the Association for Aid to Political Prisoners (AAPP), a political prisoner is “anyone who has been arrested because of his or her perceived or actual active participation in or support of political movements.” This organization states that the motivation behind the arrest must be political.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe defines the criteria as such: “A person deprived of personal freedom is considered a political prisoner if the detention is determined in violation of one of the basic guarantees specified in the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols, especially freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom gatherings and associations; if the detention was determined for purely political reasons unrelated to any offense; if, for political reasons, the length of detention or the conditions therein are clearly disproportionate to the criminal offense for which the person has been found guilty or is suspected; if, for political reasons, he is deprived of his liberty in a discriminatory manner in relation to other persons; or, if the detention was the result of a procedure that was clearly unjust and that it was connected to the political motives of the authorities.”
Media close to the ruling party describe Bjelić as a bully
After the collapse of the awning and the reactions of the organization SviĆe, of which Ivan Bjelić was a member, he was described as a “thug” in numerous media.
In the text on the 24sedam internet media, it is written that “he is among the most exposed so-called civil activists who are trying to abuse the tragedy in Novi Sad”.
On November 5, the Novosti media published an article entitled “THE CASE OF IVAN BJELIĆ: A thug under the guise of a ‘civic’ activist”, in which he was described as “a person prone to excessive and often uncontrolled use of violence.” He was also referred to in several articles by the newspaper Informer as a “thug”, “coward”, “hooligan”, “man with an assault rifle”, “fake environmentalist”, etc.. A rally was organized on November 10th in support of the arrested student Relja Stanojević, who is also in custody for 30 days. Support for Ivan Bjelić comes from the SviĆe organization, and student and environmental organizations.
I.P.
