Belgrade DMH 241013

LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: Support to Serbia for UN SC not to recognize independence of Kosovo (Radio Serbia)

“Serbia has the support for the United Nations Security Council not to recognize independence of Kosovo and Serbia welcomes all UN projects aimed at improving economic cooperation and promoting human rights,” Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic pointed out in talks with the UN Resident Coordinator for Serbia Irena Vojackova Sollorano. He said that Serbia was completely inclined to the World Organization and that it would have been much better if some internal problems were resolved with the mediation of the UN. Sollorano said her wish was to promote the economic situation in the country during her stay in Serbia, through cooperation with state bodies. She praised the efforts of the Serbian Government to eliminate corruption, pointing out that the battle against corruption was one of the foundations of any modern society.

Dacic: Very successful cooperation between Serbia and the UN (Tanjug)

The cooperation between Serbia and the UN is very good and the UN is a respected partner of the Serbian government and citizens, said Prime Minister Ivica Dacic at a ceremony marking the 68^th anniversary of the UN Charter, held in Belgrade. The Serbian leadership is cooperating successfully with more than 20 UN organizations and agencies, on various development and political projects significant for the whole region, the PM said. A good confirmation of that cooperation is the fact that a former Serbian foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, presided the 67^th session of the UN General Assembly. Serbia understands this honor as recognition to its efforts to contribute to the resolving of global challenges, said Dacic, adding that Serbia’s contribution to UN peace missions as well testifies to such an attitude. Serbia will be working on the realization of UN millennium goals and the formulation of a development policy for the period after 2015, which Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic as well spoke about at a recent UN General Assembly session, stressed Dacic.

Erdogan: Kosovo is Turkey! (Novosti)

Turkey is Kosovo and Kosovo is Turkey! This scandalous sentence was pronounced yesterday in Prizren by Turkish Prime Minister Taip Erdogan, reaping the applauses of ten thousand people who had come to greet him. Erdogan continued to speak in the spirit of neo-Ottomanism and said that Kosovo is his second country and that the cultures of Turkey and Kosovo can be different but that their citizens belong to the same country. “Dear brothers and friends, we have a common history of culture and civilization. We are so close that the author of the Turkish anthem Mehmet Akif Ersoi comes from Kosovo, Pec,” said Erdogan who brought to Kosovo a 600-member delegation, including almost all Turkish ministers and well-known businessmen. He arrived in the company of Kosovo and Albanian Premiers, Hashim Thaqi and Edi Rama. Thaqi didn’t forget to note that Turkey was the first state that recognized independence of Kosovo. Such an atmosphere was an overture for today’s Brussels meeting of the working groups for elections in Kosovo and Metohija that should resolve disagreements regarding polls. Novosti learns that Belgrade will try to stop Pristina’s manipulations with the polls for the local elections in Kosovo and Metohija, and it is not excluded that Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, Thaqi and the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton meet again on this occasion in Brussels. The Chairperson of the Serbian parliament Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun tells Novosti that it is important to correct all irregularities in the polls:” When you add to the fictitious Albanian votes the boycott in the north, we have risk of Pristina establishing its administration in Serb regions like Zubin Potok.” According to the 2011 census, there are 1,739,825 people in Kosovo and Metohija, while according to the Central Electoral Commission (CIK) 1,779,357 people have the right to vote at present, which is 40,000 more than enumerated citizens. The CIK member Nenad Rikalo tells Novosti that around 55,000 dead people have been deleted from the polls, but claims there remain more: “Since the last elections, the number of those with the right to vote has increased by almost 200,000. This increase was not influenced by the verification of voters from Serbia proper, around 16,000 of which were “approved” by the CIK.

Nedeljkovic requests compensation

The dismissed Kosovska Mitrovica District head Radenko Nedeljkovic tells Novosti that he will sue the state, request compensation and his job back. “I was dismissed illegally because I am one of the nine heads who was elected at a competition, with a mandate until 2015.” The Serbian Government didn’t wish to comment the announcements of the former Kosovska Mitrovica District head.

Nikolic will not visit the province

Apart from the irregularities regarding the polls, today’s meeting of the working groups for elections in Kosovo in Brussels should also touch upon the violation of the agreement on free movement of Serbian officials after Pristina’s refusal for Minister in charge of Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin to travel to the province together with Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. Novosti learns that President Tomislav Nikolic will not probably visit Kosovo even though this has been mentioned as an option.

Hundreds of displaced already voted (Beta)
In just a few days since voting by mail for the elections in Kosovo and Metohija started, a hundred of displaced voted, Commissioner for Refugees Aleksandar Miljkovic said.
The Commissioner told Beta that the number would be much larger if the Commissioner’s Office and voters didn’t have big problems and stated: “We have sent documents for registration in the central poll for 710 people, and the Kosovo Central Election Commission (CIK) has rejected the registration forms for 430 voters.” Miljkovic has pointed out to serious irregularities and said it often happens that the CIK on the same day refuses and accepts the appeal of the same person. Miljkovic added that the Commissioner’s Office of the Prokuplje municipality is available for legal and other assistance in order for internally displaced persons from Kosovo to became eligible for voter registration and be eligible to vote. Voting by mail for the elections in Kosovo is available until 1 November, and in Serbia, voting can be done in 180 places.

Lebanon: Decorations for Serbian soldiers in UN mission (Beta/Tanjug)

Spanish brigadier general Fernando Lopez Del Pozo, the commander of the sector “East” within the UN peace mission in Lebanon, has decorated 34 members of the Serbian contingent with the UN medals for dedicated service. At the ceremony in the UN base, the Serbian soldiers received the medals along with the members of Spanish and Ecuadorian troops. General Del Pozo has expressed gratitude for the unselfish and professional contribution during the six months of engagement in preserving the peace and stability in that part of the Near East. The Belgrade authorities have announced that in November another company of the Serbian Army will come to Lebanon, comprised of 150 troops for each rotation in the composition of the UNIFIL Mission.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

Dacic: Relations in region improving (BHT1)

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated that the relations in the region are at their best in the recent history although problems are still present, and underscored that the relations between Serbia, Croatia, B&H and Montenegro are crucial for the future of the region. Regional cooperation is important especially because of the joint interests embodied in European integration, Dacic said in an interview for the B&H Television BHT1 as reported by the media in the region. Dacic said that ties with B&H have normalized to a considerable extent and announced that the joint session of the Serbian Government and the B&H Council of Ministers would be held in late November. Reflecting on the issue of Kosovo, Dacic said that the relations with Pristina need to be normalized as much as possible in matters relevant to the life of people in the province.

Sorensen: EU has no “paper” (Fena)

The Head of the EU Delegation to B&H and the EU Special Representative Peter Sorensen has assessed that it is necessary to go a long way in order to reach a solution for the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci ruling. Sorensen told the press in Sarajevo that the EU Delegation is not negotiating in the current talks but helping political parties to talk among themselves. “If any result comes out of these talks, it is on the politicians to convey this to state institutions for the ruling to be implemented. Since a solution is not required from the EU but form B&H, we have no paper that recommends a solution. In my opinion, a long way is ahead of us. As someone who has been taking part in talks since 2011, I already know by heart the stands of different sides. Great political courage and making compromises will be needed,” said Sorensen.

Cvijanovic-Daviddi: Optimism that compromise will be reached in B&H Federation (Srna)

The Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska (RS) Zeljka Cvijanovic and Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in B&H Renzo Daviddi voiced optimism that political leaders in the B&H Federation will most urgently reach compromise on the modality for implementing the Sejdic-Finci ruling. “They also discussed the obligations that the B&H institutions must fulfill in the coming period with the goal of achieving further progress of B&H on the European path, with special focus on implementing the Sejdic-Finci ruling and establishing a new coordination mechanism in the sphere of European integrations,” it is stressed in the announcement. The meeting was also attended by the Head of the EU Delegation Office in Banja Luka Giulio Zani.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Romania and Serbia Cross Swords Over Vlach Symbol (BIRN, 24 October 2013)

The Romanian Foreign Ministry has urged Serbia to respect the rights of the Romanian minority following a disagreement over a cross erected in eastern Serbia.

Romania's Foreign Ministry has called on Serbia to respect the rights of the Vlach minority, warning that it is hindering good neighbourly relations.

“A Romanian delegation will travel to Serbia to assess the situation as its attitude towards minorities is unacceptable in a European country," Mircea Dolha, Vice President of the Commission for the Romanian diaspora, said on Wednesday.

This comes after Serbian authorities launched an investigation this week into a cross that Vlachs, who are close to Romanians, erected in the Timocka Krajina area of eastern Serbia.

The Vlach minority in the area reportedly did not ask for permission to put up the cross, which the local authorities say is obligatory.

According to Dolha, Romania is planning to expand its constitution to include new provisions concerning the Romanian diaspora, Vlachs included.

This is not the first time that Bucharest has complained about the treatment of Vlachs in Serbia.

During the European Affairs Ministers meeting on February 28, 2012, Romania tried to veto Serbia's EU candidacy, saying Serbia must do more to protect the rights of its Vlachs.

Serbia obtained candidate status in March that year, however, and is hoping to start accession talks next January.

The issue of Vlach minorities in the Balkans is important in Romania. Many Vlachs speak a Romance language and Bucharest considers them ethnic Romanians.

However, the Vlach community is in fact divided in Serbia, between some who consider themselves Serbian and others who declare themselves Romanians.

The two groups are divided mainly on the questions of their origin and language.

Most Vlachs in Serbia live in eastern Serbia, while a separate ethnic Romanian minority is concentrated in the north, in the province of Vojvodina. According to the 2011 census, about 35,000 Vlachs and about 29,000 Romanians live in the country.

Boycott or betrayal? Kosovo Serbs torn over key election (EU business Ltd, 24 October 2013)

(KOSOVSKA MITROVICA) - Kosovo's minority Serbs, who vehemently reject the territory's independence, are torn over whether to vote in crunch local elections backed by former Yugoslav master Serbia for the first time.

After urging Kosovo's ethnic Serbs to boycott local elections in 2010, Belgrade is now calling on them to take part in the November 3 vote after an historic EU-brokered deal to normalise ties with Pristina.

Serbia still officially rejects Kosovo's 2008 unilateral declaration of independence, but agreed to encourage the breakaway province's Serb community to vote under pressure from the European Union, which it hopes to join.

The about-turn has provided a dilemma for Kosovo's Serbs who see their choice as being between a boycott or betrayal.

"If I decide not to vote, it is out of fear for the future. And it is the same fear that would push me to vote," Suzana Misic, a 35-year-old literature professor, told AFP in Kosovska Mitrovica, the main city in northern Kosovo.

Most of her ethnic kin are similarly undecided, saying they would decide at the last moment whether to take part in the election.

A boycott could see majority Serb municipalities being represented and run by ethnic Albanians, as their parties have candidates in all districts in northern Kosovo.

Some 40,000 Serbs live in the northern Kosovo region bordering Serbia, which has maintained a certain control of institutions there, giving Pristina almost no power in the area.

Another 80,000 Serbs live scattered in enclaves throughout Kosovo -- surrounded by the overwhelming ethnic Albanian majority -- many of whom have taken part in previous elections.

In September, Belgrade dissolved Serb municipal councils -- set up in northern Kosovo under Serbia's electoral procedures after independence -- for refusing to take part in the November poll.

The move angered local lawmakers who began campaigning hard for the Serb community to boycott the election.

'Everyone here sees this as a betrayal'

In response, top Serbian officials have stepped up their own efforts to lure voters to the polls.

"After the vote, people will still live here, but the election outcome will not be successful" if they do not participate, Serbia's Minister for Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin told a group of residents in the northern Kosovar town of Zvecan.

However there is virtually no sign of the election in Zvecan. Not a single candidate poster can be seen on the streets and no rallies have been organised.

On Saturday, Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic visited a town near Pristina where he called on Kosovo Serbs to "unite in order to defend the interests of Serbia" in the breakaway territory.

"We ask you to vote. Your government tells you that it is in your best interest," said Dacic, referring to Belgrade.

But Dacic has yet to visit the key town of Mitrovica, where opposition to the poll is strongest.

The streets of this flashpoint town -- where the Ibar River divides Serb and Albanian inhabitants -- are decked with posters calling for a boycott of the polls.

One of the posters shows Dacic shaking hands with his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci, captioned: "I prefer not to get my hands dirty" -- a message that those who do vote will be seen as traitors.

A van with a rooftop loudspeaker roams the streets from morning to night blasting Serb nationalist songs and calls to boycott the election.

"If they vote, the Serbs will substitute their state with another (Kosovo)... Everyone here sees this as a betrayal," Marko Jaksic, member of the conservative nationalist DSS party, told AFP.

But Danijela Vujicic of the Srpska Citizens' Initiative countered that the vote would enable the Serbs to form legitimate institutions recognised both by Pristina and the international community.

"If the (Serb) turnout is massive, Pristina can no longer make decisions without the Serbs," she said.

But some are hard to convince.

"We have already boycotted elections organised by Pristina, as in 2010, and it prevented Kosovo authorities from controlling the north, so why not do the same?" said 44-year old Nevenka Medic.

More than 90 countries, including the United States and most of the European Union, have recognised the independence of Kosovo, a landlocked Balkan territory surrounded by Serbia, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Polls Won't End 'North Kosovo Saga', Report Says (BIRN, 24 October 2013)

As 'historic' local elections loom in the Serb-run northern Kosovo, a think tank has warned that the November 3 polls will not resolve all problems in the area.

In a recent report, the Balkans Policy Research Group, a think tank, said the November 3 elections "will not end the northern Kosovo saga”.

The local elections "are likely to produce a flawed and unstable leadership body with little popular support," the group warned.

"That is due to decisions taken by stakeholders in Belgrade, Brussels and Pristina more than to any failings of the candidates and parties involved”, the report “Something Completely Different in North Kosovo”, published on Wednesday, said.

The last local elections in Kosovo were held in November 2009, but most people in the northern, Serb-run municipalities ignored the poll, and elected their own leaders in a separate vote organised by Serbia.

The November 3 polls form a crucial part of implementing an EU-mediated agreement between the governments of Kosovo and Serbia intended to "normalise" relations. [Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's independence proclaimed in 2008.]

Despite calls from Pristina, Belgrade and Brussels to participate in the upcoming local elections, it remains unclear how big the turnout on November 3 in northern Kosovo will be.

Serbs in the region remain divided between those keen to participate and those who campaign strongly for a boycott of the process.

The Balkan Group also said “the electoral process in northern Kosovo and to a lesser extent throughout Kosovo Serb majority areas fails to meet several key standards”, suggesting “runoff elections will probably need to be held.

“With good will from Belgrade and Pristina, that process need not take more than six to eight months. The citizens of northern Kosovo could then be offered the chance to vote anew for their local representatives, perhaps at the same time as the 2014 general elections in Kosovo”, the report reads.

Slovenia supports Bosnia-Herzegovina's bid for EU: FM (Azeri Press Agency, 23 October 2013)

Baku- Slovenia reiterated on Tuesday that it would continue supporting Bosnia-Herzegovina's effort to join the European Union and NATO, APA reports quoting local media.

Slovenia hopes Bosnia to step up efforts to get access to EU membership, Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec told his Bosnian counterpart Zlatko Lagumdzija here.

In response, Lagumdzija said that his country was expecting more active support and guidance from the European Commission and EU member states' experience to join the EU.

During their meeting, Erjavec and Lagumdzija also exchanged views over economic cooperation between the two countries. Further discussions over cooperation are expected early next year, local mass media said.

Trade volumes between Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina registered one billion euros (1.3 billion U.S. dollars).

In addition, Slovenian investments in Bosnia had helped create around 15,000 jobs, according to Lagumdzija.

Bosnian Serbs Force Out 'Disloyal' Minister (BIRN, by Elvira M. Jukic, 24 October 2013)

Mirko Sarovic, Bosnia's Foreign Trade Minister, has been dismissed by the state-level government for allegedy not representing Bosnia's Serb entity, the Republika Srpska.

The Council of Ministers, Bosnia's state-level government, sacked the Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Minister, a member of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, along with two deputy ministers from the same party on Wednesday.

This move was initiated by MPs from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, led by Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska. He had said earlier that Sarovic must go because he was not efficient.

The SNSD sought the dismissal of Sarovic, Deputy Defence Minister Mirko Okolic and Deputy Refugee Minister Radmila Mitrovic, all from the SDS, because they allegedly did not fulfill their responsibilities.

The basic SNSD criticism is that the SDS officials did not stand up enough for the interests of the Republika Srpska at state level.

The dismissals on Wednesday were supported by Croatian and Serbian Ministers on the Council, while Bosniak ministers voted against.

Sarovic said on Wednesday that he appeared to be guilty of working too hard for the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.

“I showed this ministry can be of use to all citizens of this country, and each entity,” he said. “I did my job to full capacity and will until the last day that I am the minister,” he added.

The sackings have yet to be confirmed by parliamentarians on Thursday.

The SNSD and SDS were originally in coalition in the six-party government at state level. But Dodik, of the SNSD, and Mladen Bosic, head of the SDS, ended their coalition in September, following disagreements over the functioning of government.

Macedonian Judiciary is Independent - from Justice (Balkan Insight, by Xhabir Deralla, 24 October 2013)

The Kezarovski ruling makes a mockery of the Prime Minister’s claim that the courts operate independently of politics in Macedonia.

There is very little to say about the latest display of injustice towards the journalist Tomislav Kezarovski in sentencing him to four-and-a-half years in prison. Why? Because this severe sentence was only to be expected, having in mind that Kezarovski was arrested in May this year, and has been kept in detention ever since.

The shockingly irrational act leaves people wordless. And it has been the same for a number of years now. In one case after another, people who dared confront the ruling party have ended up in long periods of detention, with harsh prison sentences.

We’ve seen quite a few proceedings on cases of corruption, tax evasion and other financial crimes mounted against people who happened to be on the “wrong” side of power. One such case wiped out the A1 TV station and three daily newspapers that were known for being critical of the government. Such also is the case of the imprisonment of one opposition leader, and several others. It hasn’t  stopped at the level of financial crime charges. Several people were arrested for espionage recently. Allegedly, they spied for Greece and Hungary!

The most blatant attack against freedom of speech was certainly the arrest of the journalist Tomislav Kezarovski. His arrest has drawn loud reactions from countless people, journalists and organizations from home and abroad. The most relevant institutions have all demanded his release from detention and a fair trial. In a letter of August 29 sent to Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatoviæ, described Kezarovski’s continued detention for another 30 days as unacceptable.

“Imprisonment of journalists for their writing is not acceptable in a democratic society. This is the only case in the Western Balkan region where a journalist is held in prison pending trial. I am concerned both by his arrest and excessively lengthy detention, as they negatively impact on media freedom in your country,” Mijatoviæ wrote. The Prime Minister’s answer came two days later. “The principle of the separation of powers does not allow the government to intervene in court decisions, regardless of how much it disagrees with them, no matter how such decisions may harm the country’s image,” he said.

“The government, as in all other court cases, is staying out of the case of Tomislav Kezarovski. The government neither sought to impose detention on Mr Kezarovski, nor has it influenced competent judges in deciding the measure,” he added.

“Although some structures are trying to politicize this case, even though it can also be used to damage the image of the Republic of Macedonia, our principled government will continue to stay away and will carefully monitor the court hearings in this case, because this is the only correct and possible way of conduct,” Gruevski concluded.

Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression, said: “Kezarovski should be released immediately. Excessive measures such as his prolonged detention only serve to intimidate journalists and deeply hurt the independence of the media. Democracies can never work properly when critical voices are silenced.”

The very few media that remain independent publicized La Rue’s findings, whilst the government controlled media did their best to spin his report and statements on freedom of expression.

The Prime Minister’s statement meanwhile is not convincing. It is indisputable that the justice system in Macedonia is corrupted and politicized. The Prime Minister himself admits that, by constantly repeating that the justice system is in the process of fundamental reforms. One does not reform institutions that work well.

Moreover, the government is responsible for the proper functioning of the institutions; that is why a justice ministry exists. Violation of laws and depriving people of their basic rights, including access to justice, is notorious in this country. The judiciary is independent, says the PM. But independent from what - from justice?

The day of the verdict came. After almost five months of detention this appalling Kafka-like process came to an end. Hopes that the prosecutor and the judge might come to their senses and finally decide to act in accordance with the laws and human rights standards were slim. So it was. Kezarovski was sentenced to four-and-a-half years. Although hopes for justice were low, the final ruling was still shocking. This case, like many others, is senseless. But there probably is a reason for it. It’s if we are being told: “See what we can do, and yet still call it justice and law! You can do nothing about it!”

Justice Minister Blerim Bexheti has manifested maximum obedience since he took up his post. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, he proudly said that detention is not a measure used in excess in Macedonia. “Only 5 per cent of court cases end up with detention,” he said. He didn’t say which court cases, for how long a period, or what the number of cases he is operating with is. He didn’t know these figures? Was he only saying what the ruling party told him to say? Did he want to say it? Was he afraid to tell the truth, or just didn’t care? Questions mount up, unanswered.

The pro-government media rushed to explain why Kezarovski was imprisoned and prosecuted in such a manner, pumping up the “crime” and justifying what cannot be justified. By doing so, they only raised more questions. Why did Kezarovski come under such heavy fire?

Some of the answers came from his lawyers. “The only reason for jailing Tomislav Kezarovski was his investigation of the death of the owner of the Fokus newspaper Nikola Mladenov,” the lawyer Andrea Radinovski said, conveying Kezarovski’s own standpoint right after the verdict was announced. “The prison sentence is based on proceedings without evidence,” lawyer Zvonko Radinovski added.

Analysts and human rights activists agreed that the only real “crime” of Kezarovski was that he dared to write about the transgressions of government institutions.

I believe that some readers may not be entirely well informed about the Kezarovski case. I could see that from some of the Facebook statuses and comments in the last 48 hours. I don’t blame them, having in mind the state of the media in the country. Here are a few lines about it.

Kezarovski, a journalist of the daily Nova Makedonija, was originally charged with revealing the identity of a protected witness in an article published in 2008. The “protected witness” did not even have that status at the time. Moreover, the same “protected witness” last February confessed that he gave false testimony under police pressure. Before the special police arrested him on May 28, Kezarovski was investigating the circumstances of Fokus publisher and editor Mladenov who died in a mysterious car accident in March.

While writing these lines, I feel uncomfortable, to say the least. I feel for Kezarovski, whom I might not know personally, but have felt close to in the last several months. I feel for his family, who have suffered immensely. I feel for all people imprisoned in the last few years, for whose verdicts the government, judges and media megaphones have provided no real justification. Finally, I feel for my own friends, colleagues and family who increasingly fear for my own wellbeing, knowing what I do, say and write about day in, day out.

I remember, in the last years of the Communist regime, at the end of the Eighties, when I started as a journalist on the Mlad Borec magazine, under Nikola Mladenov and Saso Ordanoski. Our magazine grew into a dissident media house for the promotion of free speech; it became known as the carrier of the “Macedonian spring”. Back in those days, the one-party monolithic system could lock one up for good. Still, the atmosphere in society then was not as grim as it seems today. We were under pressure, of course. But, somehow, we knew that we were not going to be imprisoned for what we were writing. I used to give poetry performances in coffee bars, politically engaged ones, too. I was taken to a police station once, beaten up and released some hours later. But, I somehow felt safe from prison. I can’t say that now.

As a human rights activist, I had the sad opportunity to learn about the detention centre in Shutka and the other prison facilities in Macedonia. I visited 13 of them. I know that conditions in Shutka are utterly inhumane and that the treatment there is below any standard adopted by national or international laws and conventions. Once you get there, you will never be the same again. It is not only the buildings, it is the people who run the prison system. When I write this, have to say it again, I am afraid.

Yet, I can’t help but struggle with my fear, because I strongly believe in justice and freedom. And I can’t be free if an innocent person is imprisoned. Therefore, I will repeat what my colleagues at Civil and I have said in public on a number of occasions in the last months and on the day of the verdict.

“The prison sentence of Kezarovski is shameful, brutal and shocking and is a grave violation of human rights, freedom of speech and the independence of the media in the country. This case was meant to frighten and to intimidate Kezarovski and other Macedonian journalists and is a clear violation of the freedom of expression. […] Free Kezarovski immediately and compensate for all suffering he and his family experienced since his arrest!”