Strasbourg Court: Serbia to Pay Fine to Protestor Convicted in Unfair Procedure

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Serbia must pay €3,600 in non-pecuniary damages to an individual convicted during protests against COVID-19 measures. The court found that the applicant, Iskrenović, was subjected to an unfair trial in 2020.

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Due to this, Iskrenović's request for domestic courts to hear an eyewitness and obtain video recordings from surveillance cameras was neither unreasonable nor abusive.

The case involved Iskrenović's conviction for insulting police officers during social unrest that erupted over government-imposed pandemic restrictions. The ECHR's Chamber determined that Serbia violated Article 6 (paragraphs 1 and 3(d)) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial and the right to examine witnesses.

The court noted that the entire case hinged on the credibility of the arresting police officer's testimony, which differed from Iskrenović's account. Iskrenović's request to have an eyewitness heard and for surveillance video footage to be obtained was deemed neither unreasonable nor abusive by the ECHR.

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However, domestic courts did not adequately consider the significance of these pieces of evidence, nor did they provide sufficient reasons for refusing to obtain and present them.

However, the domestic courts did not adequately consider the significance of this evidence or provide sufficient reasons for refusing to obtain and present it. Consequently, Iskrenović's conviction was based almost exclusively on the arresting officer's testimony, preventing the defense from effectively challenging the accusations and undermining the overall fairness of the proceedings.

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Iskrenović's conviction was ultimately based almost exclusively on the testimony of the police officer who detained him, which prevented the defense from effectively challenging the accusations, thus undermining the overall fairness of the proceedings.