Human rights organizations condemn the attack on journalist Teofil Pančić and ask police and Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia to locate and arrest perpetrators as soon as possible.
Teofil Pančić, journalist of the weekly Vreme magazine, was brutally attacked on July 24, 2010 around 11 p.m. in a Belgrade Public Transportation bus in Zemun. Two young men with hoods over their heads followed Pančić into the bus and severely beat him with metal bars in the presence of a number of passengers on which occasion he sustained a head concussion and right arm injuries. After a failed attempt to subdue him, the attackers fled in the direction of Zemun downtown.
Especially concerning is the fact that none of the passengers who eye-witnessed the attack did nothing to stop the violence and Teofil Pančić, although injured, called the police who took him to a hospital.
This brutal attack on Teofil Pančić is yet another in a series of violent incidents directed against persons whose public engagement is characterized by a critical opinion of the socio-political situation in the country.
By not pursuing and punishing perpetrators of such attacks, federal institutions create an atmosphere condoning violence.
Human rights organizations call upon the Ministry of Justice to conduct an efficient investigation, identify and arrest the perpetrators, and also call upon the Office of the Prosecutor to secure an adequate processing of this crime by which a message will be sent to the society that violence will no longer be tolerated.
Press Release signed by:
Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM)
Belgrade Human Rights Center
Women in Black
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Center for Cultural Decontamination
Humanitarian Law Center
Youth Initiative for Human Rights
Queeria – Center for the Promotion of the Culture of Non-Violence and Equality
Vojvodina Club
Modern Skills Center
Pančevo Civil Action
