On 21 February 2008, around 22:00, after the protest against the independence of Kosovo, unidentified persons threw a flare at, and damaged, the doorstep and the door of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) office. The security guard of the company next door to the HLC office prevented the fire from spreading; putting out the fire after the attackers left the scene. HLC heard from eyewitnesses that police conducted an investigation into this event the same night around midnight. Even though HLC had asked the police, through the office of Police Director Milorad Veljović, to provide security for the HLC office, not a single police officer could be seen either during or after the protest or the mass held at the St. Sava Temple located in the vicinity of the HLC office.
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Your Excellency,
Front Line is deeply concerned following information received of threats against human rights defenders, including Natasa Kandic, the Executive Director of the Humanitarian Law Centre, and human rights organisations operating in Serbia, in the context of the official declaration of Kosovo’s independence.
Stockholm, Washington, Utrecht
20 February 2008
Dear Sirs,
We would like to express our deepest concern about the latest threats on human rights defenders in Serbia, as well as the failure to arrest and bring to justice attackers on journalists, artists, and others who express different opinions on issues facing Serbia today.
I personally had a chance to observe the events happening in front of the Turkish Embassy before, during, and after the Serbian protest against the independence of Kosovo on 21 February 2008.
The International Bar Association (IBA)’s Human Rights Institute has expressed grave concern for the safety of prominent human rights defenders in Serbia, following comments made by political party leaders inciting action against them.
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