NEWSLETTER #11
ON ATTACKS AND PRESSURE AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The Solidarity for the Rights of All Network presents Newsletter # 11 on attacks and pressure against activists. The team documents attacks and pressures on the Incident Map through research of publicly available information and interviews with the victims. Since the beginning of 2023, 6 attacks and pressures have been registered, both on those who protect human rights and those who found themselves in that role due to their actions and suffered consequences. The Solidarity for the Rights of All Network is led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights – YUCOM, Belgrade Center for Security Policy, and the People’s Parliament.
Threats to activists after the action to clean up the park near Mitićeva rupa više.. |
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| Activists of Krokodil and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights received numerous death threats after the action of cleaning and decorating the children’s park near Mitićeva rupa on February 18, 2023, in which they removed a mural with the image of Miloš Obilić and the words “When the Serbian army returns to Kosovo”. According to a post on the Twitter profile @krokodilEW, activists, employees and citizens have received hundreds of direct threats of “death, chopping and other most creative methods of murder”. The gathering was organized to highlight the request of the A11 initiative from October 2022 to the City Administration of the City of Belgrade that the park be named after Dušan Jovanović, a Roma boy who was killed by members of the ultra-right organization “skinheads” in 1997 in Belgrade. Threats to activists were condemned by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, the National Convention on the EU, the Ministry for European Integration and the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue. | |
| Date | February 19, 2023 |
| Type of attack | Threats/Intimidation/Blackmail |
| Type of attacker | Unknown; Physical person; |
| Threatened right | Freedom of assembly; Freedom of expression; Freedom of association |
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ATTACKS AND PRESSURES
JANUARY – FEBRUARY
| A new attack on the premises of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights more… | |
| Date | February 19, 2023 |
| Type of attack | Damage to property |
| Type of attacke | Unknown; Physical person |
| Threatened rights | Freedom of assembly; Freedom of expression; Freedom of association |
| A new attack on the premises of the Pride Info Center more… | |
| Date | February 19, 2023 |
| Type of attack | Damage to property |
| Type of attacke | Unknown; Physical person |
| Threatened rights | Freedom of assembly; Freedom of expression; Freedom of association |
| Misdemeanor fines against activists in the action of cleaning the park near Mitićeva rupa more… | |
| Date | February 18, 2023. |
| Type of attack | Misdemeanor procedure |
| Type of attacke | Communal militia |
| Threatened rights | Freedom of assembly; Freedom of expression; Freedom of association |
| More on map… | |
SELECTED REACTIONS
| February 24, 2023 | Violence or the threat of violence must never be a way of communicating in public with those who have different views! |
| Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue | |
| February 24, 2023 | The Ministry of European Integration condemns the threats that have been directed at civil society activists in recent days, and we offer them our full support. |
| Ministry for European Integration | |
| February 23, 2023 | National Convention: Institutions to urgently respond to threats and attacks on activists. |
| National Convention on the EU | |
| February 21, 2023 | Threats and hate speech addressed to the activists who participated in the painting of the mural in Mitićeva rupa are to be condemned in the strongest possible terms! |
| Commissioner for the Protection of Equality |
INVITATION TO THE WEBINAR III
Mental Health of human rights activists
(February 28, 2023)
As part of the program to empower activists who stand up for the protection of human rights, the Solidarity for the Rights of All team is organizing a webinar on the topic “Mental health of activists”.
The webinar will be held on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, via the Zoom platform, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
In the introductory part, Dragoslava Barzut from Civic Initiatives will present the findings and conclusions of research conducted by colleagues as part of the campaign “Let’s support ourselves!”, focusing on the mental health of activists in Serbia and the difficulties they face on a daily basis. In addition, psychologists Draga Šapić and Jana Dimoski from the PIN network will talk to us about protecting the mental health of activists in the work environment and give certain guidelines and practical advice for preventing stress at work.
If you are interested in attending the webinar, you can register at the e-mail address office@yucom.org.rs
Feel free to forward the invitation to fellow activists. In the attachment, we provide you with a detailed webinar agenda, and after registration, we will send you a link to access the webinar.
Solidarity greetings,
Team Solidarity for the rights of all
ATTACK STATISTICS IN 2022
CONTACT
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You can report attacks and pressures against your organization and yourself to the contact below with a brief description of the event, date, place and identity of the attacker (if known). We would ask you to submit a contact phone number with the application, at which you can be reached for additional questions You can report an attack at e-mail: office@yucom.org.rs |
