23. 07. 2005

CHARGES AGAINST THE RADICALS

BELGRADE, July 23, 2005 – Legal charges against Natasa Kandic and Veran Matic has been dropped, while the Radicals announced pressing private charges for libel. Prosecutors in the Fourth Municipal Court in Belgrade have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Humanitarian Law Centre director Natasa Kandic and RTV B92 director Veran Matic for libel, the secretary-general of the Serbian Radical Party said today. Aleksandar Vucic told media that the party had been advised by the prosecution to press private charges. This would be done in Kandic’s case, he added. The party’s deputy leader, Tomislav Nikolic, had laid a libel complaint against Kandic and Matic in June over allegations that he had been involved in crimes in the Croatian village of Antin in which about fifty elderly people were killed in 1991. Vucic said today that the Radicals could not file a private suit against Matic but that Nikolic would file charges against Kandic on Monday. He said the party would give the authorities a deadline of October 15 to complete proceedings against Kandic and if this did not happen there would be half a million people on the streets of Belgrade. “We’re not asking for a ruling in favour of Tomislav Nikolic, we want a ruling which clearly states that if Tomislav Nikolic is a murderer or if Natasa Kandic is a liar they should go to prison. There’s no great philosophy here. One of these two things must be clear in Serbia”, said Vucic.