Few Serbian citizens are fighting on battlefields abroad

BELGRADE - Zoran Babic, caucus whip of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) as the central party in the government coalition, stated on Sunday that the information of security services shows that only a dozen Serbian citizens or several dozens at most are fighting on battlefields abroad.

The Serbian parliament adopted on Friday the amendments to the Criminal Code increasing the penalties for individuals wishing to take part in wars abroad so that the state could prevent citizens from departing for battlefields worldwide regardless of their geographic position, be it Syria, Iraq or Ukraine, Babic said and added that the location makes no difference.

Serbia does not want to close its eyes and ignore the participation of our citizens in clashes on battlefields abroad for various reasons, be they financial or ideological, Babic told the Belgrade-based Television Pink.

This is why the amendments to the Criminal Code increased the penalties for those wishing to take part in clashes abroad, Babic said and added that citizens already participating in armed conflicts abroad can return to Serbia but they will be held accountable for their actions. He recalled that the sentence for the criminal act of participation in clashes abroad adds up to six months to five years of imprisonment, while organisers can be sentenced to one to eight years of prison.

Serbia wants to export its expertise, goods and service and to be famous for sports and other results, not for the trail of its citizens on battlefields worldwide, he said.

We are struggling to improve the country's image abroad and to act as a stability factor in the region, and we are members of the coalition in the fight against terrorism, Babic underscored.

He...