Orlic with Khan on the Todosijevic verdict: Pristina is conducting an open persecution of the Serbs

The President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Vladimir Orlic, met today with the special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of thought and expression, Irene Khan, and on that occasion pointed out the case of Ivan Todosijevic, who had been sentenced by Pristina to prison for verbal tort.

Orlic pointed out that "since the fall of the Iron Curtain, it has not happened that on the soil of Europe, someone was prosecuted only because of what was said", according to the announcement of the National Assembly.

"Anywhere in Europe today something like that is completely unimaginable, and this is exactly what is happening to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. A man was sentenced to one year in prison, he was summoned to serve his sentence, without even being served with a verdict. This is not only illegal violence, but also the brutal trampling of human rights and open persecution. At the same time, a member of Kurti's so-called 'Security Forces' shot Serbian children on Christmas Day, and that villain was released under house arrest, charged only with 'causing danger'. "These facts clearly indicate a serious violation of the right to freedom of thought, expression, as well as all other rights of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and deserve a place in the report of the UN Human Rights Council," the President of the National Assembly said.

He pointed out that in the Republic of Serbia, there was absolute freedom of thought and expression, as well as that our country had made progress in this area in previous years both through regulation and in practice. This was confirmed, as he pointed out, by relevant international indicators.

"According to the press freedom index of 'Reporters without Borders' last year, Serbia advanced by 14 positions compared to the previous year, and now it is ranked better compared to some EU member states," the Speaker of the Parliament said.

He pointed out that today there was a significantly lower number of physical attacks on journalists compared to the period more than ten years ago, adding that work continued to further improve the rights of journalists and protect their safety, through working bodies formed by the Government of Serbia, numerous established mechanisms and a new platform.

Orlic reminded that, on the eve of last year's elections, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia had adopted amendments to the Law on Electronic Media and the Law on Public Media Services, the adoption of which, along with numerous other solutions, had been the result of inter-party dialogue, and which had enabled election conditions according to the highest democratic standards since the introduction of multi-party system in Serbia.

Speaking about informing national minorities in their own language, he emphasized that this issue was better regulated in our country than in some European countries, and he also confirmed the wide availability of the Internet to citizens of Serbia.

"Urban areas are fully covered by high-speed internet, which the Government of Serbia will provide to the most remote rural areas by 2025, implementing the national broadband network program," Orlic said.

Irene Khan welcomed the regulatory framework that guaranteed media freedom and pluralism in Serbia and emphasized the importance of the role of the National Assembly when it came to legal solutions that had yet to be adopted. Orlic expressed the expectation that the cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the UN Human Rights Council would continue in the future.