Journalist Dejan Petar Zlatanovic (BetaPhoto/YouTube/PrintScreen)
"I did not call for the toppling of the constitutional order and (Serbian President) Aleksandar Vucic, and I was detained solely for verbal assault," journalist Dejan Petar Zlatanovic, the editor-in-chief of the Srbin.info website who was released late on April 6 after 50 days in custody, said on April 7.
Zlatanovic told BETA he had not expected the authorities to release him from detention and that not even his lawyers had known about the decision.
"Politics arrested us, politics released us. Me and Damnjan Knezevic (leader of the so-called People's Patrols) were literally thrown out of jail. Around 4 p.m. we were just told we had to leave the prison immediately. Not even our lawyers knew about the Court of Appeal's decision," said Zlatanovic.
He underscored that he had been arrested for verbal assault and that he had not even mentioned the Serbian president's name at the protest held on Feb. 15.
"What is interesting is that the prosecutor recognized Aleksandar Vucic in my statement 'he who signs shall be killed,' even though I did not mention any names," said Zlatanovic.
The Srbin.info editor-in-chief pointed out that the authorities had not scared him and that he would not change the editorial policy of his media outlet.
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