Two activists from the informal citizen initiatives “Zrenjanin Assemblies” and “Bicycle Guerrilla” were detained yesterday around 3:00 PM in Mileticeva Street in Zrenjanin, after they removed “Yellow Thieves” political stickers and wrote the graffiti “Students win.”
According to volimzrenjanin.com, misdemeanor charges were filed against them, according to their statements, while one of the detainees claims that during the police procedure, she was forced to strip completely during a search at the police station.
Activist Marina told the Volim Zrenjanin portal that the police at the scene did not explain the reason for their detention, nor did they immediately inform them of their rights.
“We were in Mileticeva Street removing stickers, and Goran wrote the graffiti ‘Students win.’ At one point, two police cars appeared with four police officers. They didn’t tell us why they were stopping us, they just identified us. I didn’t have my ID card with me, but I immediately gave my information – first name, last name, address, and personal identification number – and said they could check my identity immediately. Despite that, they received an order for us to get into the car and they separated us,” she stated.
She adds that she was then taken to the detention room at the police station.
“I sat in the back of the police car with a police officer as if I were a criminal. They took me to a room in the part of the building where the cells with bars and reinforced doors are located. We waited there to see what the prosecutor would decide. The whole time, no one clearly told us why we were there or on what basis we were detained,” Marina says.
She considers the way the personal search was conducted particularly problematic.
“At one point, a woman in civilian clothes entered who did not introduce herself. She told me to undress. I took off my tracksuit, sneakers, and socks, and then my underwear. She made me crouch. That has never happened to me in my life. I also told the police officers that I understand I committed a misdemeanor because I didn’t have my ID card, but I don’t understand that because of that, someone has to strip me to the skin. I was disgusted and humiliated,” she emphasizes.
According to her, her rights were not verbally communicated to her before she signed the documentation.
“No one told me that I could call a lawyer. Only later did they give me a paper with my rights to read and sign. Everything was done in reverse order – first the search, and only then the notification of rights. Until that moment, I didn’t even know exactly what I was signing,” Marina adds.
She also states that the record of the procedure was not delivered to her.
“I was told that it would proceed ex officio as a misdemeanor due to the ID card, but we haven’t seen the record. That is what worries me the most – that you don’t know what is being written about you while you are inside,” she says.
The other detained activist, Goran, stated that they had previously been removing stickers that, as he claims, were placed at multiple locations in the city during the night, after which he wrote graffiti on the wall of the remains of a demolished house in Mileticeva Street.
“I noticed that during the night, graffiti and stickers appeared, among which were insulting messages. When I was returning from work, I decided we should remove them. Marina joined me and we went to Mileticeva Street. There, I wrote the graffiti ‘Students win’ on the wall of the remains of a demolished house, which does not belong to a residential building. Then we crossed the street and continued removing stickers when two police vehicles with four police officers appeared and identified us,” he said.
As he states, the police cited the ID card that Marina did not have with her as the reason for detention, as well as the spray cans he was carrying.
“They found six spray cans and ordinary gloves on me. After that, we were taken to the police station. A misdemeanor charge was filed against Marina for not possessing an ID card, and against me for bold and reckless behavior. When I asked what that behavior consisted of, the answer was that I wrote graffiti on a wall,” Goran stated.
He adds that he believes the police reaction was selective.
“I got the impression that the law enforcement authorities monitor very carefully so that graffiti against the current government does not appear. The police officers were professional in their communication at the scene, but I had the impression that they received an order to act strictly within the limits of their authority – to the point of humiliation,” he said.
He particularly emphasizes that the detention will not discourage him. “I told them then that I would continue with this. I thought they would just identify us and let us go. However, obviously, an order arrived for us to be detained. Regardless of that, the graffiti still stands. Students win and we are fighting until the students’ demands are met,” Goran said.
MORE TOPICS:
Source: Nova.rs; Photo: Printscreen X