Nikolina Bačkonja Filipović claims she was arrested over a photo of her child wearing a šajkača, that they prevented her from signing in Cyrillic, and that she was released on the day of Thompson's concert.
The Misdemeanor Court in Šibenik sentenced Nikolina Bačkonja Filipović to 15 days in prison for posting a photo of her seven-year-old son wearing a šajkača and raising three fingers on social media. While the court classifies the disputed post as a disturbance of public order and peace, she claims it is a case of selective treatment of Serbs and punishment for displaying Serbian national symbols.
It all began on July 21, when three police officers came to her hometown of Strmica. According to her account, they first encountered her son, who was alone, without his parents present. "Little one, where is your Chetnik cap?" they asked him. The boy replied that he didn't know what a Chetnik cap was, but that it was a Serbian šajkača, and that the cap wasn't there because it was in Serbia.
Bačkonja Filipović says the child suffered great trauma and is not doing well. After that, they came to her, who was on the lower floor of the house, and took her into custody. Already before the judge, as she states, she had the feeling that the decision against her was practically made.
"I asked her to at least impose a fine because of my child. She said I had to spend 15 days in prison because of all those things I posted on Facebook," Bačkonja Filipović told Euronews Serbia. She added that she was under great stress because her child was left at home in tears.
In the cell, according to her own words, she was with four other women, Croats, who were kind to her and with whom she got along well. However, it was particularly hard for her that her family could only call after seven days, when she was granted a phone card.
Although she describes most police officers as correct, she claims there were provocations. "They didn't allow me to sign in Cyrillic. They told me it would be good if I signed in their script, so that I could spend those 15 days in prison peacefully, so that they, in other words, wouldn't bother me," she revealed.
She also stated that she asked for contact with the embassy and that they told her she could request a visit from diplomatic representatives, which she signed. However, days passed, and no one from the embassy came. Her lawyer later checked and told her that the embassy didn't even know she was in prison in Šibenik.
Bačkonja Filipović believes that the date of her release from prison was not coincidental either. "I arrived on Saturday, passed all borders normally. They arrested me on July 21, a Tuesday. It was all planned, deliberate, to hurt me even more, to release me on the day of Thompson's concert in Šibenik and on the day of 'Storm,' when I left as an eight-year-old child, on August 4," she stated.
Upon returning to Serbia, she sought help and support from, as she says, Mr. Linta and Captain Dragan, and emphasizes that everything is still in process. She expects a reaction from European institutions and protection for people in similar situations. "I don't consider myself guilty. I didn't do anything wrong. I don't hate anyone," she said.
She explains that the photo was taken in Serbia and posted on Christmas Eve, and that she had no intention of offending anyone. Despite everything, she does not plan to stop coming to Croatia. "I love my Strmica and I will always go," she concluded.
