Ravnogorci acquitted of charges of inciting hatred and intolerance in the Višegrad area

(Patria) - Members of the Ravnogorski pokret, Dušan Sladojević, Slavko Aleksić and Risto Lečić, have been acquitted of charges of inciting national, racial and religious hatred, discord and intolerance in the area of Višegrad and its surroundings in March 2019.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina acquitted them of the charge that they gathered in the early morning hours of March 10, 2019, at the Square of Fallen Fighters in Višegrad, organized by the Višegrad municipal committee of the “Ravnogorski pokret”, which included members of the movement from Serbia and Montenegro, in uniforms and with flags, who later went by vehicles to the location of the Dobrunska River, known as “Draževina”.

Sladojević was acquitted of the charge that, as president of the “Ravnogorski pokret of Republika Srpska”, after the formation, he addressed those present and submitted a report to the accused Aleksić, while in the background a song with lyrics that incite fear was played.

According to the verdict, Aleksić was acquitted of the charge that, after Sladojević submitted the report to him at the “Draževina” location, he addressed those present with the words “Brothers Ravnogorci, brothers Chetniks”, whereby those present used terminology that incites fear, while the song “Sprem'te se, sprem'te, četnici” was played over the loudspeaker.

Lečić was acquitted of the charge that in front of the “Višegrad” hotel he began singing a song accompanied by the gusle which glorifies the Chetnik movement, and which in its lyrics expresses a threat or violence, and caused anxiety and fear among the population, especially returnees and citizens of Višegrad and surrounding places.

Judge Stanko Blagić said in the explanation of the verdict that the Prosecutor's Office did not prove with certainty the key actions that the accused were charged with, and that from the evidence presented it does not follow that the elements of the criminal offense were fulfilled.

According to Judge Blagić, it is not disputed that the holding of the gathering itself caused anxiety and unpleasant memories among the witnesses heard, but they stated that they “do not feel hatred towards the people from which the accused originate”.

“Guilt cannot be based on an analysis of the emotional state of the witnesses heard, who learned about the song performed with the gusle later, after it was published in the media,” said Judge Blagić.

According to the Court's assessment, the gathering in Višegrad was duly reported and supervised by police structures, and during the pronouncement it was said that everyone, according to European conventions, has the right to freedom of expression, which is not unlimited, but that from the tone and content of the statements of the accused, a conclusion should have been drawn as to whether they incited hatred.

Regarding the actions taken by Lečić, i.e., singing a song accompanied by the gusle, Judge Blagić said that it was directed at a small circle of listeners at the very beginning of the gathering, and recalled the testimony of a Defense witness who stated that the song sung by the accused dates from the Second World War and speaks of the suffering of the Serbian people.

The indictment, among other things, states that Lečić sang with the gusle: “There will again be hell and a bloody Drina, here come the Chetniks from the Serbian mountains.”

“There is no evidence that the accused addressed a larger group, but rather members of the movement,” said Judge Blagić, stating that there is no evidence of the public actions of the accused, i.e., that they called for the gathering via social networks.

According to Blagić, the Prosecutor's Office presented an expert analysis of a recording from Višegrad composed of several parts in which the statements of the accused were “cut out” and without stating the origin of the recordings, which, the judge added, invalidated the content analysis of the expert report.

“This evidence cannot be accepted because on its basis the facts relevant to the criminal offense cannot be established,” said Blagić.

According to the Court's assessment, it cannot be concluded that the accused acted with intent to incite hatred and intolerance in the area of Višegrad and beyond, and that the Prosecutor's Office did not offer relevant evidence for that claim.

The trial of Sladojević, Aleksić and Lečić, after several postponements, began in July 2021, and the accused did not attend the pronouncement of the verdict today.

An appeal against this verdict is possible.