European Parliament (Photo: EP/Philippe BUISSIN)
A group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urged on May 23 President of the European Council Antonio Costa to do everything in his power for six unjustly detained activists in Serbia to be released immediately, so that there are no political prisoners in a candidate country that claims to be committed to EU accession and rule of law.
In a letter also sent to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the MEPs stated that Marija Vasic, Lazar Dinic, Mladen Cvijetic, Lado Jovovic, Srdjan Duric, and Davor Stefanovic had been under unlawful surveillance and illegally deprived of their liberty, without proper legal grounds and with clear political motives.
The European parliamentarians underlined that their names and footage from the illegal surveillance were published by state-owned and pro-government media outlets, violating their fundamental rights to privacy and the presumption of innocence. The MEPs also warned of the alarming level of repression being exercised by the authorities in Serbia against citizens protesting against corruption and the erosion of the rule of law.
They also highlighted in their letter political pressure on the judiciary, particularly following public comments by top state officials regarding court decisions. The letter was signed by the following MEPs -Helmut Brandstetter, Thijs Reuten, Irena Joveva, Andreas Schieder, Vladimir Prebilic, Thomas Waitz, and Matjaz Nemec.
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