Human rights activist who pelted eggs at Mladic mural attacked

N1

The human rights activist who was arrested for pelting eggs at the mural of a convicted war criminal has been assaulted for the second time in less than a week.

Aida Corovic, human rights activist and former MP, said that a young man confronted her and poured Coca-Cola over her coat. She said that this was the second time that she was assaulted by “hooligans guarding the mural of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic”. “Five days ago I and cameraman Delmir who works for RTL News Netherlands had Fanta poured over us,” she said in a Facebook post adding that this attack included verbal abuse. “He followed me from the newsstand and when I turned into my street he poured Coca-Cola on me and recorded the whole thing with his phone,” she added.

Corovic was arrested a few weeks ago by plain clothes police when she pelted eggs at the mural in a central Belgrade street. Her arrest drew protests during which police in riot gear separated the protesters from a large group of Mladic supporters who shouted abuse at them. The mural was painted over by communal service workers under orders from the Vracar municipality but the paint was removed by young men who stand guard in front of the mural. Two more murals were painted on walls next to the Mladic image, one of a WW I Serbian Royal Army general and the other of a WW 2 Yugoslav Royal Army general who was convicted for collaborating with the Nazis.

Corovic told Nova.rs that she reported the attack to the police but doubts that anything will happen because of who is backing the attacker. “I see clearly that they are clay pigeons being used by the authorities who will be the first to fall to the bosses who ordered them to abuse the residents of Vracar and Belgrade,” Corovic said in the post and blamed the attacks on Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin and President Aleksandar Vucic.