Prominent representatives of the Serbian diaspora, including respected academics from France and Switzerland, have sent a letter to Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This marks the second such letter this year, expressing grave concern over the excessive use of force and police brutality against students and citizens during protests in Serbia, Danas exclusively learned.
The full content of the letter is as follows:
Letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
“Dear United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
We, the undersigned members of the Serbian diaspora, wish to express deep concern regarding the alarming cases of detention of peaceful demonstrators currently occurring in Serbia.
We strongly condemn the violent tactics employed by the regime of President Aleksandar Vučić against protesters and respectfully urge you to address this serious issue as a matter of utmost urgency. Numerous media reports, as well as documented witness evidence on social media, indicate instances of police brutality and repressive measures targeting students and citizens of Serbia who are merely exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
There are clear examples of the excessive use of force by the police against demonstrators, such as police vans speeding towards peaceful protesters, or the case of an eighteen-year-old who was brutally handcuffed and taken away without any justification.
A recent report on police brutality in front of the Faculty of Law in Belgrade states that several students had to urgently seek medical attention, and one student sustained a broken collarbone.
We cannot remain passive as the level of violence and repression against our people continues to escalate. This issue demands urgent attention and action. Therefore, we call upon you to direct your professional efforts toward this extraordinary problem, demonstrating the same dedication you have previously shown in resolving critical situations in Serbia, for which we are sincerely grateful.
Your expertise and support can have a crucial impact in the fight against political repression, police brutality, and the suppression of fundamental human rights in Serbia.”
Signatories and Previous Appeal
Currently, the letter has been signed by over 8,000 diaspora members, including Snežana Samardžić Marković, former Minister of Youth and Sports of Serbia and former Director-General of Democracy at the Council of Europe, and currently the global rapporteur for human rights of athletes at the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Members of the Serbian diaspora had previously sent a letter to Volker Türk on May 19 of this year. That letter, signed by 79 members of the academic community and exclusively obtained by Danas, stated that the authoritarian regime in Serbia was holding Marija Vasić and five other activists in political detention under inhumane conditions. This comes at a time when no one in authority has yet been held accountable for the collapse of a canopy that killed 16 people in Novi Sad on November 1 last year.
