13 Jun Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: May 31 – June 13, 2024

Posted at 13:55h in News, Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass by

Belgrade, June 13, 2024

Violations of basic freedoms in Serbia

May 31 – June 13, 2024

 

Strategic lawsuits against public participation, better known as SLAPP lawsuits, in the previously observed period continued to be a weapon in the hands of the holders of power to stifle criticism and freedom of expression.

The Crime and Corruption Research Network (KRIK) was sentenced by the decision of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade for the alleged violation of the presumption of innocence of Predrag Koluvija. Koluvija sued KRIK because of the news from the trial in which he was called an “accused drug lord”, although the use of such expressions is a “regular practice in well-known world media when writing about the accused leaders of drug cartels”. Milan Radonjić, acquitted of the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, sued the Slavko Ćuruvija foundation for injury to reputation and honor and demanded compensation of half a million dinars. The foundation was sued for a statement in which it disagreed with that ruling.

In the previous two weeks, the freedom of association was particularly exposed to pressure, by preventing workers from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to union organization and action.  The branch union of metal workers “Nezavisnost” in the factory “Krušik” in Valjevo has lost its representativeness, for which it will complain to the board, announced the president of the union. This is a continuation of the pressure that the management of that factory has been exerting for months. The trade union states that their members were questioned in order to find out if they were really members of the trade union, then that they were blackmailed and that other methods of preventing their work were applied. The management of the “Jura” factory from Leskovac, after the warning strikes of the Independent Union, began to put pressure on the employees to leave the union. In addition to the pressure to sign cards to leave the union, other pressures and intimidation were also applied to the workers.

You can find more details about these cases in the full report below.