The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) alerts to the impermissible conduct of part of Serbia’s judiciary in the trial of persons accused of killing four members of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) in the attempt to assassinate the SPO leader on the Ibar Road in October 1999. In its first-instance judgement handed down in the retrial, the Belgrade District Court additionally reduced the prison sentences pronounced against some defendants. The mitigated sentence of former Serbian State Security chief Radomir Marković and the acquittal of former Belgrade State Security chief Milan Radonjić, who had held these posts at the time this  crime was committed, are the most dubious. Moreover, the perpetrators of the multiple killing have been convicted to 14 years in jail each.    (more…)

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights is disgusted by the violence and public demonstration of Fascism in its grossest form at the panel discussion staged at the Novi Sad Faculty of Philosophy to mark the International Day against Fascism and Semitism on 9 November. The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights most vehemently condemns the inapt reaction by the police to the incident, encouraging the most extremist segments of society and endangering fundamental human rights and academic freedoms. (more…)

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has filed with the Constitutional Court of Serbia a motion to review the constitutionality of Article 1, Para 1, of the Family Law, under which only domestic partnerships involving unmarried individuals of the opposite sex are considered extramarital unions. Such a definition of an extramarital union places partners of the same sex in such unions at a much greater disadvantage, as they do not have access to many of the rights guaranteed extramarital partners, including the right to alimony, joint ownership, protection from family violence, whereby partners of the same sex have become victims of discrimination on the grounds of sex i.e. sexual orientation. (more…)

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights protests against the public appearances by Mr. Velimir Ilić, Minister in the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Not only do the crassness and vulgarity of his statements give rise to concern. The conduct of Minister Ilić and those cheering him on or not standing up to him are a symptom of the state this society is in and of the frame of mind of a large part of Serbia’s political elite. (more…)

Ten years have passed since the armed operation named Storm by Croatian authorities took place.  After Storm, the Croatian state has remained almost ethnically clean, having only a few percent of Serbian population.  In barely four days, Storm entirely changed the ethnic picture in parts of Croatia that used to be significantly inhabited by Serbs.  There is no doubt that during the operation and after it, numerous crimes have been committed toward the Serbian civilian population. (more…)

Belgrade Centre for Human Rights today sent a letter to Nenad Bogdanovic, the mayor of Belgrade, regarding the protests against the proposed construction of community housing for the Roma families in Belgrade suburb Dr. Ivan Ribar. (more…)