Serbia's NGO's asks UN to react to police actions during anti-regime protests

The reason for that urgent appeal sent on July 14, was "excessive, unjustified and illegal force," as well "the lack of the state institutions' reaction"  during demonstrations, RFE said.

The letter sent to Mezer contained 13 documented cases of police brutality over the demonstrators during protests that started on July 7 in Belgrade after President Aleksandar Vucic had announced that a new curfew might be introduced due to the worsening situation with the coronavirus epidemic.

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"At least dozens of people were treated in an inhuman and humiliating way, while in some case it can be described as torture," the letter said.

Besides the police abuse of power, the NGOs mentioned "the torture by unidentified people," who did not belong to the state institutions.

Earlier on Tuesday, seven Serbia's NGOs wrote to the European Union asking the bloc to demand from Belgrade's authorities to implement the rule of law in the country,

"We have strong reason to believe that they belong to informal criminal groups closely linked to the Interior Ministry (MUP)," the letter to the UN said.

The lack of the institutional reaction showed the "systematic impunity for torture and other forms of bullyrags," the letter to the UN said.

It added that the risk of wide-spread police brutality still existed.

Nikola Kovacevic, from the Initiative for Economic and Social Rights A11, told RFE, the UN could "politically pressure the state to honour the international standards."

"We request that the respective institutions in Serbia investigate reports on torture mentioned in the letter," Kovacevic said.

They also demanded that Mezer appeal to Serbia's state officials to condemn the police brutality, and request the reaction from the country's Ombudsman who said there were only individual cases of police inappropriate acts.

The NGOs also demanded that in case of further protests the police officers "must wear a badge if "securing the demonstrations," which "will help identify the policemen who violate the rule and abuse protesters."