Vulin says what Vucic is not allowed to say in public: Is Serbia bringing back the death penalty?

As soon as he returns from Paris, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he will propose to the government passing the law and to parliament the adoption of a law reinstating the death penalty.

Vucic concluded his visit to Paris on Tuesday 9 April.

At one point, he said during a weekend guest appearance on the regime’s TV Informer, he called for the return of the death penalty and addressed the Council of Europe on that occasion.

“I once publicly advocated that the death penalty should be considered for reintroduction, without punishment. If any act deserves the death penalty, it is an act. When a government is formed, they should consider whether they will go ahead with such a proposal. Because you can sentence someone to 40 years for this, but I don’t think that is an appropriate punishment,” Vučić said of the murdered girl from Bor.

The opinion of the expert public

Experts say that if the death penalty were to return to the Serbian justice system, the constitution would first have to be amended. Also, as long as the country is a candidate for accession to the European Union, the death penalty cannot be brought back.

The reintroduction of the death penalty, they argue, would lead to the exclusion of Serbia from the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights system, as the death penalty is prohibited by the European Convention, which Serbia has ratified.

Let us recall that the last death penalty in Belgrade was carried out in the early 1970s in the Central Prison on Milan Gutić and Sava Lisovac, who were convicted in 1969 for the murder of Belgrade taxi driver Tiosav Janković.

In Serbia, the last death row prisoner to be executed was Johan Drozde. He was convicted in 1988 for the murder and rape of a six-year-old girl in the Odžak area, and was shot dead four years later.

Serbia has a two-century history of capital punishment, which has been used since 1804 for a wide range of crimes – from murder and theft to extramarital affair, most often involving incest.

The death penalty was carried out by shooting, hanging, flogging, and sometimes in a very cruel way – the condemned was beaten the wheel and the body was publicly exposed after the execution, sometimes until it had completely decomposed.

The attitude of the public

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said of Vucic’s proposal that a referendum on the reintroduction of the death penalty in Serbia “might pass”, but he believes that changes to the constitution should be initiated.

“I am really in favour of the death penalty, but I think it is difficult to achieve. Only if we change the constitution … Whether it is realistic or not, it requires an amendment to the constitution,” he said. Dacic added: “to change the constitution, we know how to do it”.

Milos Vucevic, representative of the Serbian government, current Minister of Defence and President of the ruling SNS party, said at the launch of the initiative for the return of the death penalty that he understood the feelings of the citizens, but that as a lawyer he had a more reserved attitude and that everything had to be carefully evaluated and then a concrete and professional answer had to be given.

He promised to reflect on this proposal and to give the public an answer as soon as the government is formed and the initiative of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to introduce the death penalty is received.

“Of course, we understand what our obligations are as members of the Council of Europe, but the government will certainly consider any initiative, including this one,” he said.

He added that there was no doubt that a majority of Serbs would support the return of the death penalty for the most serious crimes at this point in time, but that this decision would have to be carefully evaluated.

“We will be responsible in doing so, so that we do not violate anyone’s rights and freedoms, so that we do not offend anyone, so that we listen to the profession, so that we understand the expectations of the public and, of course, so that we do not jeopardise Serbia’s political positions in international institutions,” Vucevic promised.

Will the threat of Serbia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe be an obstacle to reaching a consensus on reintroducing the death penalty? Or will the fact that the country is a candidate for accession to the European Union be an obstacle to the decision of the autocratic authorities in the country?

These questions have been answered unequivocally by Aleksandar Vulin, former head of the BIA, a man who has the ability to say in public what Vucic dare not.

“They are worried that Serbia could leave the Council of Europe if, like the US, we bring back the death penalty for monsters who kill children. If the return of the death penalty is a reason for Serbia to leave the Council of Europe, then so be it”, Vulin said in response to statements by members of the NGO that the reintroduction of the death penalty in Serbia is incompatible with membership of the Council of Europe.

The attitude towards Kosovo’s membership of the Council of Europe, Vulin explained, is an attitude towards Serbia.

“That is why the majority of the European Union members and all the officials of the Brussels administration vote for Kosovo, knowing that they are voting against Serbia. Russia has supported us this time too, despite the difficulties. If Russia were still a member of the Council of Europe, we would not have mentioned Kosovo, where there is no Russia, there is no justice for the Serbs either, is that not clear to you?” concluded Vulin./The Geopost/