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Fanula Niaolin, UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in the Fight against Terrorism, asked the Serbian government for an explanation of why the Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in July required the Serbian banks inspect the financial transactions of at least 37 organizations. and 20 people.
Photo: EPA / MARTIAL TREZZINIThis maneuver by the Administration, which works under the auspices of the Serbian Ministry of Finance, was valued by the entities protected by the authorities as a kind of pressure from the citizens that indicates corruption in the government, political torture or rights violations. humans, writes Voice of America.
Niaolin tells Voice of America that it asked the Serbian authorities for an explanation about the Administration’s movements and that the time left for them to answer questions related to individual cases is 60 days.
Such and similar actions, initiated on the basis of the law that regulates serious criminal acts or acts of terrorism, rarely occur in most countries of the world, he said.
It is especially unexpected for something like this to happen in democracies. There is a strong presumption that governments committed to democracy and the inclusion of civil society do not approach and abuse such laws, Niaolin noted.
We are witnessing the abuse of anti-terrorist financing laws around the world, but it is a huge exception when a democratic state uses them in such a way, Niaolin said, adding that his speech to Serbian authorities is unequivocally connected with the possibility of restricting freedom of expression in Serbia.
We believe that the targeting of the non-governmental sector and its actors is inconsistent with the application of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. This means that the law whose purpose is to prevent the financing of terrorism should be applied against people suspected of being related to terrorism or terrorists, he evaluated.
The problem is when states begin to define civil society actors in this way. The application of the law in this way raises the issue of the violation of the rights of representatives of the civil sector and others to whom it applies. They become the subject of investigations and public controversy. And access to your bank funds may be limited, due to ongoing investigations, Niaolin added.
In my opinion, the way in which the Serbian authorities used the law, in addition to being incompatible with respect for human rights, is also incompatible with Serbia’s obligations to undertake the prevention of terrorism in a manner compatible with international law, because States are also obliged to do so. .
So when Serbia abuses the law, it somehow sends signals to other countries that the Anti-Terrorism Law can be used for actions that result in human rights violations. That is bad for the fight against terrorism, he concluded.
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