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Peter Nikitin, a Russian anti-war activist and one
of the founders of the Russian Democratic Society (an association of
the Russian diaspora in Serbia opposing the war in Ukraine and
Putin's regime), was detained last night at Belgrade's "Nikola
Tesla" airport when he attempted to enter Serbia, where he has a
permanent residence.
Nikitin has been living with his family in
Belgrade since 2016, and his children hold Serbian citizenship. In
his 20 years of traveling in and out of Serbia, this is the first
time such an incident has occurred, and there is no explanation for
it other than his anti-war activities within the Russian Democratic
Society.
The border police are refusing him entry into the
country and are awaiting permission from the Security Information
Agency (BIA).
Nikitin informed the public about the situation at
the airport via Facebook, sharing the decision of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the appeal he immediately submitted. As a
lawyer and activist, he drafted a complaint stating that the
decision to ban his entry into Serbia contradicts the Law on
Foreigners, the Law on Police, the Constitution of Serbia, and the
European Convention on Human Rights.
He claims that he has not been provided with an
explanation as to why his entry into Serbia has been banned, and he
believes it is an arbitrary decision by the Security Information
Agency.
Nikitin stated that the decision preventing his
entry into Serbia, which was handed to him, states that he is banned
from entering the country based on the fact that he has been banned
from entering Serbia.
Nikitin stated that the decision preventing his
entry into Serbia which was served to him indicates that he is not
allowed to enter the country based on the fact that a ban on his
entry into Serbia has been imposed.
As a reminder, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a critic of
Vladimir Putin's regime, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in
Russia after his stay in Belgrade. He identified the director of the
Security Information Agency (BIA), Aleksandar Vulin, as a Russian
spy who was providing intelligence of meetings between
representatives of the Russian opposition in Belgrade directly to
the Kremlin.
We demand that Peter Nikitin's appeal be urgently
considered, and we call on the state authorities to act in
accordance with their own laws and international conventions,
allowing Nikitin to enter Serbia.
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