Civil initiatives strongly condemned public calls for lynching and permanent eviction of relatives of the detainee Albanian due to a traffic accident at Surdulice, in which one Surdulica man was killed, as well as the continuation of the campaign that includes collective targeting of citizens based on nationality.
"The fact that public officials, including the minister, participated in the communication channels in which calls for permanent eviction and collective punishment were spread is particularly worrying. Novica Tončev", it was stated in the announcement of Građanski.
Stating that the state has an obligation to ensure the rule of law, and not to support the transfer of responsibility for the non-functioning of institutions to vulnerable groups, Citizens emphasized that it is inadmissible to publish photos and data of citizens who tried to protect family members and prevent the escalation of violence, as well as the journalist who reported from the meeting, held on February 14.
"Vremena" correspondent Dejana Cvetković in Surdulica was exposed to open attacks from the crowd and comments with sexual connotations.
"The targeting of citizens who prevented violence and a journalist who was doing her job professionally shows that the atmosphere of lynching is spreading to those who are trying to protect the law and the public interest," Citizen Initiatives warned.
"The individual criminal responsibility of the suspect, which is decided by the competent authorities, cannot be turned into a collective punishment against his relatives, nor into the ethnic targeting of the entire community. The request for permanent eviction is a form of institutionalized of discrimination and directly undermines the legal order," the statement said.
Civil initiatives demand the initiation of proceedings against organizers and speakers who publicly called for permanent eviction, lynching or discrimination and an immediate response prosecutor's office regarding the elements of the criminal acts of inciting national hatred and violation of equality.
The determination of criminal and other liability of persons who published photos and information of citizens who tried to prevent violence in communication groups, as well as the information of journalist Dejana Cvetković who reported from the meeting, was also requested.
The citizens emphasized that it is necessary to determine the political, disciplinary and eventual criminal responsibilities of public officials who participated or were present in the communication channels in which calls for collective punishment and ethnic targeting were spread, as well as their clear and unambiguous public dissuasion from such demands and the taking of urgent protection measures in order to ensure the safety of the family members of the detainee and all members of the Albanian community in Surdulica.
Source: FoNet
