Journalist and human rights activist who was briefly detained on Saturday by police in Sarajevo, Nidzara Ahmetasevic, wrote on social media that she expected something like that to happen for a while already as she has been “targeted by police for years.”
“They took me to court several times – each time they lost after it was proven that they were not telling the truth. At the same time, all my complaints and grievances, even requests for help, have been ignored by the police. So they never investigated any of the who knows how many threats I received because of my work, either as a journalist or as an activist,” Ahmetasevic wrote on Facebook.
RELATED NEWS
The human rights activist was released from custody on Saturday afternoon after she was detained that morning in Sarajevo for disturbing public order and “disobeying the orders of an officer.”
The circumstances that led to the detention can be seen in a video posted on social media. It shows her arguing with police officers.
Ahmetasevic can be heard asking one of the officers to wear his mask because of the pandemic several times in the video.
“Put handcuffs on this fool, let’s take her to Jagomir,” one of the officers can be heard saying as she is being detained, referring to a psychiatric hospital in the city.
According to the KS Interior Ministry, Ahmetasevic was detained after she disturbed public order and peace, insulted police officers and obstructed their work “for no reason.”
The Ministry resolutely rejected allegations that Ahmetasevic was detained because of her activism, saying the officers only acted in line with the Law on Misdemeanors and the powers of police officers prescribed by the Law on Police Officers in Sarajevo Canton.
Police also said that the journalist and activist “publicly belittled” the officer.
“As I was going through all that torture yesterday, as I listened to them insult me, yell at me, threaten me, even as they locked me up and ordered me to take off my clothes to search me, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the other people to whom such and similar things are happening, whose rights have been annulled, and who have been left at the mercy of the local police and tyrants,” she wrote.
Ahmetasevic was referring to the numerous migrants in Bosnia who she alleged are victims of police brutality, giving an example of one of the migrants she was in contact with who she claimed was beaten while in custody.
Referring to police officers, Ahmetasevic stressed that she knows “not all of them are the same,” but that those who do not agree with police brutality should stop it.
“We don’t need more, but less police, and their authority should be reduced. They have enough equipment, even too much. Police must learn what their job is, must know the laws, and must remember that they are in the service of the public” she argued.
Ahmetasevic also said that police followed her on Saturday evening as she was returning home.
“I didn’t ask for that. I didn’t need it. In fact, they wanted to frighten me with that even more. I hope they don’t follow me today or in the future,” she wrote.
“Don’t remain silent when you see injustice. And don’t endure injustice. We have a right to a better life,” she wrote.
Kakvo je tvoje mišljenje o ovome?
Budi prvi koji će ostaviti komentar!