(WiPC/IFEX) – On 14 July 2000, the independent Serbian internet news service, Free B92, reported that the Zajecar municipal prosecutor has appealed against the five-month prison sentence served upon writer Boban Miletic (aka Boban Bapsi) and is demanding that his sentence be increased. International PEN is alarmed by this development. It strongly protests the original […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 14 July 2000, the independent Serbian internet news service, Free B92, reported that the Zajecar municipal prosecutor has appealed against the five-month prison sentence served upon writer Boban Miletic (aka Boban Bapsi) and is demanding that his sentence be increased. International PEN is alarmed by this development. It strongly protests the original five-month sentence, considering it to be a blatant attack upon the right to freedom of expression.
Miletic was sentenced to five months in prison in June for reading from his book of aphorisms,
“Weep Mother Serbia”, at a literary evening in December 1998. He was convicted under article 157 of the Penal Code for “exposing the State and the President to ridicule”. Miletic remains free pending his appeal against his sentence.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– protesting the sentence against Miletic as a blatant attack upon the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– referring to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression’s recommendations that government bodies should not be able to bring defamation suits, and specifically the “principle that public figures are required to tolerate a greater degree of criticism than private citizens”
– urging that, in light of these concerns, Miletic not be required to serve a prison term
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
President Slobodan Milosevic
Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2
11070 Belgrade,
Yugoslavia
Fax: +381 11 636 77 55
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
