The trial against the Novi Sad "conspirators": It smells like Pinochet's Chile

Champions of the regime, from the president of the country to President of the SNS, announce that they will block the courts because they "release terrorists", and they are holding in custody the honest members of SNS who broke the heads of students.

"Terrorists" - these are the twelve from Novi Sad suspected of subverting the state on the basis of a wiretapped conversation broadcast by the regime's media more than two months ago.

Of them, six are "on the run", that is, in de facto exile. Three are still in custody at Klisa, and three are under house arrest since Tuesday (May 20).

Among them is Marija Vasić, who went on a hunger and thirst strike before being transferred to the prison hospital in Belgrade for infusions. For days it was not known whether she was alive at all.

The decision on detentions is unfair, famous Novi Sad lawyer Vladimir Horovic, whose office is defending the two suspects, told Vreme.

"The unfairness consists in the fact that the Court of Appeal had to terminate detention without a ban on leaving the apartment for all detainees. In addition, it did not properly determine the existence of grounds for the measure of ban on movement and communication," he says.

"Secret" public recording

"There is no doubt: the essence of the process is political persecution of dissidents. And political persecution has another function - to intimidate all citizens of this country who exercise their right to free opinion," adds Horowitz in an interview for the new issue of Vremena, which is on newsstands from Thursday (May 22).

The lawyer describes as nonsense that the recording of the wiretapped conversation was declared "secret" by the prosecutor even though people could hear large parts of it on television. In addition, the indictment does not even mention that recording.

"As a defense attorney, I have no right to comment on the content of the video, and some NN television or radio broadcaster can do whatever they want with it! That is, to put it mildly, nonsense," says Horowitz.

It's close to Pinochet.

As he adds, it is important that there is a social rebellion in this case, which took on dramatic notes primarily because of Marija Vasić's condition.

"The Pinochet regime in Chile was not far away. It was not far away that relatives did not know for months, years, if their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers were alive, and where they were," says Horovi. "It is possible that our company is headed in the direction of Chile, but we must not allow that."

Read the entire interview with Vladimirov Horovic at "Time" from Thursday (May 22) or subscribe in print or digital edition Times