Serbian Rightist Activist Faces Charges Over Mural Dispute

Serbian right-wing activist Misa Vacic faces charges over alleged threats he made to Jelena Pajovic van Reenen - an activist from Civil Society House Foundation - on Facebook in a dispute over a mural that had appeared in Belgrade.

She filed the charges against Vacic on December 12 on the grounds of danger to her personal safety against Vacic.

"Van Reenen pray to God that nothing happens to the picture [of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump]. As kids say: "We know where do you live, we know where do you sleep," Vacic wrote on Facebook on December 8.

He was responding to posts in which Pajovic van Reenen condemned the appearance of a mural of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect in front of a kindergarten, and promised to buy drinks and cakes for any artists who decided to cover it up.

"By this, I wanted to show that New Belgrade citizens do not feel good about this," she told BIRN.

Vacic told BIRN that although his Facebook discussion with her was not pleasant, he was just giving her some advice.

"She doesn't have any reason to worry about it. It was just my friendly advice, because I know locals, and many people appreciate these murals and put lot of heart into painting them; I wanted to avoid unpleasant reactions," Vacic told BIRN.

The case is before the prosecutor for high-tech crime, which did not respond to BIRN's queries by the time of publication.

Judita Popovic, lawyer specialising in online threats, told BIRN that in cases of online safety threats, once the charges are submitted to the prosecution, the case goes first to the police.

After the police investigation, the prosecutor decides if a further legal investigation should be opened. By Serbian law there are no deadlines for such...