LINTA: ARRESTING KRAJINA SERBS OVER NATIONAL SYMBOLS IS UNACCEPTABLE

BELGRADE, AUGUST 15 /SRNA/ – The President of the Association of Serbs from the Region Miodrag Linta described as chauvinistic, shameful and unacceptable the decision by a court in Šibenik to sentence Krajina Serb Nikolina Bačkonja Filipović to 15 days in prison for posting on Facebook a photograph of her seven-year-old son wearing a traditional šajkača cap, holding a Christmas badnjak, and making the three-finger Serbian salute.

The Association of Serbs from the Region said the photograph had been posted as part of a family celebration of Christmas Eve, with no intention of offending, provoking or endangering anyone. "It is absolutely unacceptable for Krajina Serbs to be arrested and convicted for celebrating their religious holidays, using national symbols, or singing national, patriotic and regional songs," Linta said. He stressed that this was one of many examples of what he described as Croatia's brutal and systematic violation of the human rights of Krajina Serbs, in this case their right to freely express their national, cultural and religious identity. Linta called on the Serbian Government to initiate talks with Croatia over the arrest and prosecution of Krajina Serbs for singing songs or posting photographs containing patriotic content. He reminded that more than 10 Serbs from the Knin area had previously been arrested and convicted for the same offense and for Facebook posts. "Of that number, most were sentenced to 15-day prison terms, one received a suspended prison sentence and one was fined EUR 1,000," Linta specified. Nikolina Bačkonja Filipović, 39, lives in Belgrade after being expelled from her homeland together with her people during the "Storm" operation. She and her family occasionally visit the village of Strmica near Knin, where their family home is located. She was staying in her village again this year when police came to her home on July 21 and detained her over posts on her Facebook profile. Linta said that Nikolina's seven-year-old son suffered trauma as a result of the conduct of three Croatian police officers who, upon arriving at the house, behaved harshly towards him and questioned him about the šajkača, which they called a Chetnik cap. Šibenik judge Mirjana Belamarić sentenced Filipović to 15 days in prison, citing what Linta described as the absurd and nonsensical grounds that she had allegedly violated Croatia's Law on Offences Against Public Order and Peace. Nikolina served her sentence in Šibenik from July 21 to August 4, after which she returned to Belgrade with her family.