28-year-old Toulouse football supporter Brice Taton died this morning in a Belgrade hospital. Brice was critically injured on 17 September while sitting with other Toulouse fans in a cafe in central Belgrade when a group of some 30 hooligans/cowards attacked them unprovoked. This incident, along with a series of other attacks on foreigners over the last 2 weeks, has shocked Belgrade and her citizens.
No words can describe how terrible this is. This young man came to Belgrade, a city which has been recently gaining a reputation for being a safe, friendly and welcoming city, to support the team he loved, to spend time with his friends and enjoy himself, but he died at the hands of cowards who need numbers and weapons to carry out their pointless violence.
The police arrested and detained a number of young men and intended to charge them with attempted murder. Now they’ll be facing charges of murder and I hope they receive adequate sentences for their involvement in the death of this visitor to Belgrade.
You may be thinking, “what’s the big deal? Football violence and tourist attacks happen all the time in other countries.” Yes. It does. But it does not happen in Belgrade. Foreigners who have made Belgrade their home go on and on how it is one of the safest places they’ve ever lived. That’s why it is so shocking for us who live here. I’ve never felt threatened in Belgrade – I can’t say the same for the time when I lived in the UK.
The people of Belgrade need to denounce the violence that has taken place on our streets over the last 2 weeks. There are hundreds of condolence comments on Serbian news websites, but Belgraders need to go out and show the world that we will not allow thugs and hooligans to threaten our amazingly safe city. And you know what, I think they will.
The Serbian Ministry of Human Rights has called on citizens to light candles and lay flowers tomorrow, Wednesday 30 September, at 11.30am at Trg Republike (Republic Square).
Also, a Protest Walk Against Violence (in Serbian) will take place on Thursday 1 October at 5pm. Already 700 people have confirmed their participation. The walk will begin at Plato and will then move long Vasina street to Trg Republike, then along Knez Mihailova, ending at the Monument of Gratitude to France in Kalemegdan Park.
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on Sep 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Adam. Adam said: [BalkanFile.com] Belgraders, Say NO to Violence! (http://bit.ly/43fWs) [...]
on Sep 29th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
This article puts the shocking violence against foreigners in Belgrade into context. It is good to read that foreigners can usually feel safe in Belgrade.
on Sep 29th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
[...] Dunno what to say really… I think Adam has put it together very good in his post at http://www.balkanfile.com/belg.....o-violence. [...]
on Sep 29th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Last time some idiot tried to burn a police officer on duty with fireworks, on a football match, got 10 years in prison. These guys killed a person, so, it’s fair to expect judges to give them at least 15-20 years each, out of 40 years which is max for any crime here. Also, suspending a cop or two for some time, for failing to predict hooligans’ routes would be a good message. And finally, systematically punishing football clubs for allowing hooligans to exist, making laws where hooliganism would be as bad as organized crime, would, Immo save us from such threat. Till then, RIP poor guy; the more of us tomorrow there, the merrier.
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