REINSTATEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSERS

[Ivo Skoric]

Serbia and US have a lot in common - love for cops that abuse their 
powers in the name of toughness on crime...

HLCIndex : 
0201-1223-3 
Beograd, 22.April 2004.


REINSTATEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSERS


The Humanitarian Law Center strongly protests against the appointment 
of Zvezdan Radojkoviæ as the Panèevo Police Chief.  In 2002, during 
the massive police campaign against political opponents of the 
Miloševiæ regime, Radojkoviæ, then an homicide and sexual offenses 
inspector in Panèevo, just outside Belgrade, conducted investigatory 
interrogations of members of the Otpor organization. On 20 April 
2001, the Panèevo Municipal Court ordered Serbia to pay compensation 
to Otpor member Branislav Vukosavljeviæ for the violation of his 
human rights by police officers. 
The Court established that six activists were handing out Otpor 
leaflets in the town park on 14 July 2000, and were taken in by 
police at approximately 9 p.m.  Police beat up several others that 
night. One of the detained activists, Branislav Vukosavljeviæ, was 
interrogated by Inspector Radojkoviæ.  The Court found that the 
interrogation was conducted in an "offensive" manner, that the 
inspector asked Vukosavljeviæ if he was carrying a firearm, if he had 
contacts with foreigners, how many Otpor members he knew, and 
questions about his family.  After the interrogation, Vukosavljeviæ 
was photographed, his palm and finger prints taken, and a police file 
was opened on him.  The Court ruled that there were no legal grounds 
for Vukosavljeviæ to have be brought in to the police station, 
detained, photographed and fingerprinted. The Humanitarian Law Center
warns of the danger of reinstating in responsible positions persons 
found guilty by courts of human rights abuses.