Gay Activist in Bosnia Recalls Attack That Shut Down Gay Fest

Andrejs Visockis, a gay man living in Bosnia, recalls the violence of the attacks on Sarajevo's first gay festival by fundamentalist Muslims that lead to the shutting down of the fest. Visockis was injured in the attack.

He writes on his blog: "As we had reached the parking lot, I suddenly saw with the back of my eye that a group of people were running at us and a second later we were attacked from behind. I tried to turn around to defend myself and get away from them but fell and found myself surrounded by what seemed to be four young guys who started kicking the living daylights out of me from all sides. Somehow, I managed to get back on my feet and get out of the circle, so I started running all I could without looking back. As I was running, I noticed I was basically blind on my left eye and my hands were covered in blood. I also couldn’t help noticing how badly lit and deserted the streets were at that point. Absolutely no police presence 50 meters from the Academy. I eventually reached a place where I felt I was safe and my friends collected me from there. Most of that night was spent in a local hospital where they kept sending me from one clinic to another and eventually stitched me up. At the emergency room we also saw some other victims of the attacks that night. Two guys who had left the venue in a taxi were followed for four kilometers, then brutally dragged out of the car, threatened with guns and then beaten with them."

Amnesty International slammed Bosnian authorities for not doing enough. In the weeks before the festival, posters were seen around Sarajevo that read "Death to Gays".

(via queerty)

Check out a Reuters report which hardly begins to address the violence, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sarajevo Gay Fest Closes Down After Attacks

Bosnia's first gay fest, which I reported yesterday was the target of attacks by fundamentalist Muslim groups, has been shut down:

"'We cannot guarantee the safety of visitors,' said organizer Svetlana Djurkovic. 'The festival is closing down.' Djurkovic heads a group that promotes the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual groups. About 250 people attended the opening of the festival of art, film and workshops about sexual minorities, which was due to last four days. Police clashed with the attackers and said they would press charges against five men. Srdjan Dizdarevic of the Bosnian branch of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights said the attacks violated 'civilized standards.'...'The attacks hoped to annul individuality in society. The attackers used fascist rhetoric,' Dizdarevic said."

Amnesty International slammed Bosnian authorities for not doing enough to protect those being attacked.

A Reuters video report about the protests and gay fest, AFTER THE JUMP..

Previously
9 Injured as Muslim Protestors Clash with Gays in Sarajevo [tr]
Posters Read 'Death to Gays' Ahead of First Gay Festival in Bosnia [tr]

9 Injured as Muslim Protestors Clash with Gays in Sarajevo

Police clashed with anti-gay rock-throwing protestors outside the Sarajevo Art Academy building where the country's first gay and lesbian festival was kicking off. The anti-gay protestors also dragged people out of cars and beat them in the street. Nine were injured, according to news organization B92:

"The hooligans, some with their faces covered, and other with long beards, were yelling insults at the festival participants and shouting, 'Allahu Akbar!' They also dragged people out of their cars and physically attacked others in the festival on the street. Six people were taken to the hospital with head injuries. The person suffering the most serious wounds was a Danish citizen. One police officer was also injured in the clashes with the hooligans. Police arrested eight attackers. Journalist Emir Imamović and writer Peđa Kojović were also injured. The hooligans gathered right before the opening of the exhibition. The police believe that they were football hooligans, judging by the clothes they were wearing and emblems that were noticed."

At the Academy, artists showed a multimedia exhibit covering gay rights.

International human rights groups sounded warnings in mid-September after posters reading "Death to Gays" were posted around the city. The Muslim community in Sarajevo was accused of stoking the anti-gay rage.

Posters Read 'Death to Gays' Ahead of First Gay Festival in Bosnia

International human rights groups have their eye on Bosnia ahead of a first-ever gay festival scheduled for September 24 in the largely Muslim city of Sarajevo:

"Neither the head of the Islamic Community in Bosnia, Mustafa Ceric, nor his institution has officially reacted to the festival, which will include films and art exhibitions. But two local imams in Bosnia have condemned it. 'We will not grab them by the neck on the street, but we have to say: This is immoral ... a promotion of ideas that are in violation with religion,' Seid Smajkic, an imam from the southern city of Mostar, was quoted as saying in Friday's Dnevni Avaz, a daily newspaper. Another local imam, Sulejman Bulgari, said on television Thursday night that the Quran forbids homosexuality and that the holy book is clear about that. Neither imam was available for an interview on Friday, the Muslim day of worship. Several posters have appeared in the streets of Sarajevo this week, saying 'Death to Gays.' Police quickly removed them."