Court throws out hooligan threats case

The First Municipal Court in Belgrade has dismissed the case against six Partizan FC fans. The groups was charged with endangering the safety of B92 TV reporter Brankica Stankovic. Court throws out hooligan threats case The court also released the group from custody. The six were held since they were arrested after a football match between Partizan and Shakhtar on December 16, 2009. During the matches, they shouted insults aimed at Stankovic, but also warned her that she would “end up like Curuvija”, in reference to the Serbian journalist and publisher who was shot dead in Belgrade in 1999. The case was dismissed today because it had been filed by an unauthorized prosecutor, the court said, and because there were “ “no elements of endangering of safety and violent behavior, but there were possibly elements of slander”. Public Prosecution Spokesman Tomo Zoric announced that the prosecution will appeal the court's decision. He said the prosecutor's office was surprised with the outcome today, because the indictment was checked by the court, and the Criminal Extra-Procedural Chamber, when all objections of the defense counsels were dismissed before the trial. Zoric stressed that the extreme importance of the indictment, saying it was “effectively historic”, since it was the first case based on the last year's changes made to the Criminal Procedure Code, which treated journalists as official persons. “It's a serious criminal act of endangering of safety (of a journalist) for which the envisaged punishment is one to eight years in prison,“ Zoric explained. Judge Jelena Milinovic, who dismissed the case today, advised Stankovic to file a private lawsuit against the fans for slander, which the B92 reporter said she would not do. Stankovic said in her reaction that such court's decision in effect justified the threats, and that competent institutions had perhaps unintentionally become accomplices and inciters of calls to lynch. The B92 reporter has been under police protection since December 2009. The threats started during the Insajder (Insider) TV series, which revealed that more than 100 criminal charges had been filed against fans of Partizan, Red Star and Rad football clubs, and that charges against them included murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion and robbery. The investigative program, however, also revealed that these criminal charges have never been processed because they would, as a rule, grind to a halt once they reached courts. Scenes from the game where threats were made (B92, file)

Court throws out hooligan threats case

The court also released the group from custody. The six were held since they were arrested after a football match between Partizan and Shakhtar on December 16, 2009.

During the matches, they shouted insults aimed at Stanković, but also warned her that she would “end up like Ćuruvija”, in reference to the Serbian journalist and publisher who was shot dead in Belgrade in 1999.

The case was dismissed today because it had been filed by an unauthorized prosecutor, the court said, and because there were “ “no elements of endangering of safety and violent behavior, but there were possibly elements of slander”.

Public Prosecution Spokesman Tomo Zorić announced that the prosecution will appeal the court's decision.

He said the prosecutor's office was surprised with the outcome today, because the indictment was checked by the court, and the Criminal Extra-Procedural Chamber, when all objections of the defense counsels were dismissed before the trial.

Zorić stressed that the extreme importance of the indictment, saying it was “effectively historic”, since it was the first case based on the last year's changes made to the Criminal Procedure Code, which treated journalists as official persons.

“It's a serious criminal act of endangering of safety (of a journalist) for which the envisaged punishment is one to eight years in prison,“ Zorić explained.

Judge Jelena Milinović, who dismissed the case today, advised Stanković to file a private lawsuit against the fans for slander, which the B92 reporter said she would not do.

Stanković said in her reaction that such court's decision in effect justified the threats, and that competent institutions had perhaps unintentionally become accomplices and inciters of calls to lynch.

The B92 reporter has been under police protection since December 2009.

The threats started during the Insajder (Insider) TV series, which revealed that more than 100 criminal charges had been filed against fans of Partizan, Red Star and Rad football clubs, and that charges against them included murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion and robbery.

The investigative program, however, also revealed that these criminal charges have never been processed because they would, as a rule, grind to a halt once they reached courts.