On August 14, a activist 22 years, student of political sciences of the University of Belgradewas intercepted by some police in the capital of Serbia. It was ten o’clock at night and the young woman, named Nikolina Sindjelić and who came from participating in the nth Anti -corruption protest Organized by the Serbian student movement since last November, he walked with some colleagues. But the most disturbing happened later, according to the young woman who, after being released, said that he had not only suffered abuse during his arrest, but also had been threatened with “being raped” in the presence “of all”. The story did not end there. Days later, intimate photographs Nikolina, also when they were a minor, were disseminated in social networks and also For a television considered related to Gobierno de Aleksandar Vučić.
The case of Nikolina, impossible to separate from the aguerrid climate of claim and protests that shake Serbia for almost a yearit has ended up thus removing some things in this country unusual. First for the violence of the episode described by the woman. “We went down Nemanjina Street when a group of police officers and the jzo [Unidad para la Protección de Personas y Instalaciones Específicas]many Masked, they left a garage. They put us there and threw us to the ground. They called me “hatch“, they said” Has State recording us“. They left my phone in half And then they took my camera. […] Then the commander MK told me that he was going to get me out of there to random to me in frontthat everyone was going to see it. […] Days later, to intimidate me, They spread intimate photographs of mine in the networks and on a government television channel. That is why I am also preparing a lawsuit, “Nikolina himself told El Periódico, when asked about what happened.
But the case has also visible another phenomenon: the increasingly visible presence of Young Serbian women In the first rows of the massive citizen protests that for months are already a permanent civil revolt, which according to various organizations is also putting them in the sight of Underground repression and intimidation forms already denounced in the past in Serbia. The journalist Jovana Gligorijević says it bluntly: the aggression against Nikolina “is unequivocally a case of Political repression and institutional violence“.” First it was illegally stoppedand publicly declared that she was beaten and threatened with rape by a well -known police officer. Subsequently, his photos of social networks were published by a former secretary of the Police and then by the most outstanding television network [por su vínculo con] he regime“He says.
Leading paper
All this is due, says Gligorijević, that “for the first time in the history of Serbia that women are truly on the front line with men. [Durante las protestas]young people are also terribly beaten, but women are subjected not only to the balls, but also to sexual harassment“. Biljana Janjic, executive director of the feminist organization Femplatz, is also overwhelming:” These tactics They originate in a deeply patriarchal system, whose objective is to humiliate publicly To women“Although the final purpose is to silence dissent. Therefore, according to Janjic, Nikolina’s story is just the tip of an iceberg. “Until now, Fmplatz has collected more from 50 cases of serious violence against protesters in Serbiasince the beginning of November 2024 [cuando empezaron las protestas anticorrupción actualmente en curso en el país]”He adds.
“We focus only on the most extreme cases, deliberate cars, possesses, pushes, police brutality, but also Digital violencesuch as the dissemination of intimate content in social networks, threats, verbal abuses and doxxing (malicious publication of personal data), “he explains, insisting that the objective is to” point out [a estas mujeres] in A society that remains conservative As for gender equality. “” We have even registered the case of a primary teacher who was attacked in the media through an intimate content video, because he showed his support for the student protest. And also those of high school students, some minorswhich have been the target of attacks on social networks, “he adds.
Closing
For its part, The Government of Serbia “Pais candidate to enter the EU— He has closed ranks before the case. Moreover, Interior Minister, Ivica Dačić, has rejected the accusations of the young woman and even has suggested that I would be lying. “There were no ties or abuse, all actions were carried out in accordance with the law, only with the purpose of preserving order and peace,” said Interior Minister, Ivica Dačić, about the arrest of the student Nikolina Sinđelić, “said Dačić. According to him, the young woman wanted to” attack the police “and during the record they found him” a torch. ”
Along these lines, from the Belgrase Share organization, specializing in digital rights and civic freedoms, Mila Bajić points out another problem: that in many cases The complaints They have not been investigated properly by the Serbian authorities. This is the case of Nikolol [difundidas en Internet]which means that [hablamos de] Distribution of child pornography, “says this analyst.
But not everything is negative for protesters. Reflection of this was also in recent days an article by Balkan Insight, the most influential English website, entitled In Serbia, women’s sexuality is being used as a weapon to silence dissent. According to Bajić, in fact, the case of Nikolina “It has been counterproductive [para los perpetradores]since she has not cast back, but has redoubled her efforts and has shown incredible resistance to these Threats and intimidation […] that in the past they have often used [en Serbia] To especially exclude women’s voices. “Nikolina, on the other hand,” has received extraordinary support, from both their fellow students and society. ”
