Lawyers detained activists Movement of free citizens and student organizations Status they say for "Vreme" that so far they have not been presented with any evidence against their clients.
The suspects will be heard before the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, and they are charged with the criminal offense of preparing an act against the constitutional order and security of Serbia, in connection with the criminal offense of calling for a violent change of the constitutional order. Then the defense will have the right to inspect the case and evidence.
All the information that the defense has is that which could be heard and seen on regime television, which on Friday evening broadcast a video of a group of people discussing possible intrusions into the Serbian Parliament and RTS during today's protest in Belgrade.
A large number of lawyers and analysts have so far publicly expressed their suspicion that the recording was made without authorization, and that it cannot be used as evidence in the proceedings. They reminded that unauthorized recording is a criminal offense.
But the big question is whether the High Prosecutor's Office has any other evidence besides the video.
"If it is an unauthorized recording or a edited recording, then such evidence is illegal and cannot be used in criminal proceedings." In the defense's opinion, in that case, it is evidence that is absolutely unfit to be legal evidence in criminal proceedings, because methods of unauthorized recording or editing can never be legal means of evidence," lawyer Željko Kočić, who defends PSG members Srđan Đurić, Mladen Cvijetić and Lada Jovović, told Vreme.
Possible compensation for non-material damage
He says that in the case of a positive conclusion of the criminal proceedings against his clients, they will have the right to demand compensation for non-material damages from the Republic of Serbia.
The lawyer of activist Stavo Lazar Dinić, Veljko Milić, also points out that, if it was an unauthorized recording, the video cannot be used in criminal proceedings.
He says that at the moment the lawyers do not know how the recording was made, but if it is an unauthorized recording, not only will it not be able to be used as evidence in the proceedings, but that act itself represents a separate criminal offense, the more serious form of which is if it was done by an official.
"If the arrested are remanded in custody, which I hope will not happen, and if there is an acquittal or the proceedings are suspended, the accused will have the right to sue the state," says Milić.
"The most ordinary Ujdurm propaganda"
He is of the opinion that the video and the apprehension are "the most common propaganda of Ujdurm".
"Even if the secret recording was legal, such recordings are not first published in the tabloid media, but are submitted to the competent authorities who proceed further in accordance with the law." "Here we have a case where the competent authorities are acting on the basis of recordings that were broadcast in the media," says Milić.
The public also suspected that the video would later be "legalized", that is, an antidated court license would be obtained for it.
Milić says that would be illegal.
"And it would be necessary for there to be very strong reasons to secretly record the premises of the opposition party." "I personally think that the recording is illegal one by one, that's why they released it to the media in the first place, because they know that it will not play a role in the proceedings," says Milić.
Members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Crime Suppression Service and the Anti-Terrorism Service, on the order of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, arrested yesterday five members of the Free Citizens Movement and one activist of the student organization Stav.
PSG members Mladen Cvijetić, Srđan Đurić, Lado Jovović, Marija Vasić and Lado Jovović and activist "Stava" Lazar Dinić were arrested.
