In Serbia, the organizers of the rally who appealed to Russia received 30 days of arrest
The Belgrade court on the evening of February 17 satisfied the request of the prosecutor's office and arrested the organizers of the rally against the surrender of Kosovo, Damnjan Knezevic and Dejan Zlatanovich, for 30 days - as a preventive measure in the case of calling for a violent change in the constitutional system of Serbia.
In response, Zlatanovich went on a dry hunger strike, and Serbian lawyers note that suspects can have their arrest period extended without any restrictions, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Knezevic and Zlatanovich were harshly detained by security services after holding a rally in front of the Serbian Presidential Administration building late in the evening of February 15. At the same time, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in a special address to the nation, stated that the rally was organized by anti-Serbian organizations that expect to achieve their goals through violence, with support from abroad, hinting at Russia.
On the afternoon of February 17, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that she did not believe that the Russian Federation was behind the protests that took place in front of the building of the Serbian Presidential Administration. She noted that Russia is too serious a country to deal with such people.
“These people are self-proclaimed patriots who appeal to another state, and they threatened the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and state institutions on a national holiday, Candlemas - Statehood Day. This says everything about what patriots they are, and what country comes first for them, and it’s definitely not Serbia,” Brnabic said.
Brnabic stated that she was due to have a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Aleksandar Bocan-Harchenko, which had been previously scheduled, and added that one of the topics of discussion would definitely be protest, as those who participated cite their close ties with the Russian Federation . However, this was not mentioned in the official information about the meeting between the Serbian Prime Minister and the Russian Ambassador in Belgrade, as well as during the consideration of the issue and the preventive measure in court.
Damnjan Knezevic, leader of the right-wing radical organization “People's Patrols,” said at the mentioned rally that if Kosovo surrenders, “we are ready for much more than riots.” The editor of the patriotic portal “Srbin.Info”, Dejan Zlatanovich, shouted several times at the rally:
“Ko sign, yobishe!” (“Whoever signs will be killed”).
The talk was about signing the so-called Franco-German settlement plan for Kosovo, which is actually an ultimatum to Belgrade. In particular, it provides for respect for the “territorial integrity” of Serbia and the “Republic of Kosovo”, “inviolability of borders”, recognition of “state symbols” and only the “special structure” of the Serbian community in Kosovo.
It is Zlatanovich’s words that the Serbian authorities are positioning as “a threat to the top leadership of Serbia,” which is a kind of confirmation: in Belgrade they are going to adopt the Franco-German plan for Kosovo. At the same time, the journalist’s lawyers claim that he only paraphrased the words of Serbian academician Dusan Kovacevic:
"Whoever signs up for Kosovo's independence will die before the ink is dry."
Serbian lawyer Srdjan Nogo said that the wording with which the court arrested Knezevic and Zlatanovich - “possible continuation of criminal activity and influence on witnesses” - allows them to continue this preventive measure for as long as they wish.
According to lawyer Dejan Zlatanovic, his client went on a dry hunger strike to protest against the court decision. It is worth noting that the Union of Journalists of Serbia and the Trade Union of Journalists are demanding the release of Zlatanovic.
In turn, Andrei Rodionov, coordinator of the RUSOV movement, shared details of the abuse of those arrested in his Telegram channel.
“Now I have learned that the “Serbian” court has left my Serbian brothers and comrades Damnjan Knezevic and Dejan Zlatanovich under arrest for another 30 days.
At the same time, I will say the following: Damnjan was beaten and pressured by police officers from the counter-terrorism department (there is a medical examination and confirmation from his lawyer), and Dejan has had some health problems since childhood and is officially a Serbian journalist, but this is “Serbian” justice didn’t pay much attention,” Rodionov wrote.
Как reported “PolitNavigator”, Serbian patriots demanded the resignation of Aleksandar Vucic, trying to break into his administration building.
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