The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights calls on all competent bodies to take all necessary measures to prevent the imprisonment of journalist Željko Bodrožić, who has for years been exposed to harassment and human rights violations by the courts sentencing him for his reporting on political and other forms of abuse in Kikinda, Vojvodina and Serbia. Like many other journalists, Željko Bodrožić was persecuted during Milošević’s totalitarian regime. As opposed to many others, his manner of reporting did not change when that regime was toppled; he, perhaps naively, continued believing that human rights violations, abuse of the judiciary and self-humiliation of the judges in Serbia could not go on forever. Journalists are still convicted to prison sentences in Kikinda and Serbia, although seven years have passed since Milošević was ousted. The values of that regime are still upheld by some judges, with the tacit or explicit support of some ministers.The UN Human Rights Committee concluded in November 2005 that the state authorities of Serbia had violated the freedom of expression guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and asked the State Party to remedy the effects of the violation and compensate Bodrožić for the expenses he had sustained in the numerous trials in which his right was violated. Seventeen months have passed since the Committee Views were published. The Human Rights Lawyers Committee, which successfully represented Bodrožić in these proceedings, has called for the implementation of the Committee Views on several occasions. The competent authorities, however, lacked both the time and will to do so; moreover, the state officials saw the demands as an opportunity to attack and belittle the efforts of this NGO. International law is ruthlessly violated in the case of Željko Bodrožić by the same country whose ruling politicians incessantly invoke international law as their mantra.
Until these shameful court decisions are repealed, the Belgrade Centre will take every opportunity both alone and in cooperation with other NGOs, media and real journalists, political parties and free citizens of Serbia to demand freedom for Željko Bodrožić and the accountability of all those responsible for these illegal decisions violating Serbian domestic law and decisions of international human rights protection bodies.
