Passive Position of Institutions Represents Direct Contribution to the Lynching of Jelena Milić

Jelena Milić, Director of the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Studies, has been exposed to an organized lynching on social networks during the past two months, which included serious insults and death threats addressed to her and her family, because of her public engagement. The threats and assaults culminated with the marking of the anniversary of the NATO bombing on March 24^th, 2016, when she called on the institutions of Serbia to stop manipulating the casualties of the bombing.

In the threats addressed to her over social networks, Twitter and Facebook, she has been called a “scum”, “fascist bitch”, a person “not worth spending a bullet on”, and certain individuals explicitly called for her murder, rape and banishment from Serbia, while several threats were directly addressed to her children.

Because of such threats, Jelena Milić filed criminal complaints against Miša Vacić and a number of other individuals with the First Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, in February. Knowing that the responsible authorities had reacted promptly in cases of threats addressed to persons in public and political life, the lack of  reaction by responsible authorities in the case at hand can only be interpreted as a clear message and encouragement to those who send such messages that the state is on their side.

The Coalition for Access to Justice calls on the institutions to enforce the law in a non-selective manner and to prosecute the individuals who are jeopardizing the lives of Jelena Milić and her family.

The Coalition for Access to Justice comprises: Centre for Advanced Legal Studies, Civil Rights Defenders, CHRIS – Network of Committees for Human Rights, Humanitarian Law Center, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina, Sandžak Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia and PRAXIS.