The Presumption of Justice

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The Presumption of Justice
Directed by Boris Malagurski
Ivana Rajović
Produced by Boris Malagurski
Screenplay by Boris Malagurski
Ivana Rajović
Production
company
Malagurski Cinema
Release dates
  • 29 June 2012 (2012-06-29) (Serbia)
Running time 41 minutes
Country Canada, Serbia
Language English, Serbian, French

The Presumption of Justice is a 2012 documentary film, directed by Boris Malagurski and Ivana Rajović,[1][2] it deals with the September 2009 murder of Brice Taton, a fan of Toulouse FC, who arrived to Belgrade, Serbia in order to support his club in its UEFA Europa League away match versus FK Partizan. The film focuses on the subsequent court case in Serbia which, resulted in a dozen FK Partizan fans being convicted of the crime. It argues that the handling of the case was negligent at both its investigative and trial stages, resulting in a miscarriage of justice in the case of Stefan Veličković, one of the 12 convicted fans.[citation needed]

The film premiered in Belgrade on June 29, 2012,[3] with subsequent showings in Subotica,[4] Novi Sad, Niš,[5] Bačka Palanka,[6] Zrenjanin,[7] Pančevo,[8] Sremski Karlovci ,[9] Nova Pazova [10] and other cities.

Synopsis[edit]

The film focuses on an incident in which French football fan Brice Taton died in Belgrade, and which led to 12 young people being sentenced to a total of 115 years of prison. On September 17, 2009, a fight broke out on Obilićev venac Square when Partizan fans attacked several Toulouse fans, which - the film claims - led to Brice Taton falling off a ledge and dying in a hospital ten days later.[11] According to the director Ivana Rajović, one of the Partizan fans, Stefan Veličković, couldn't have been a part of the fight, because he was getting a traffic violation ticket in Makedonska street several blocks away at the time the fight was taking place.[1] In spite of Stefan having an alibi, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.[12]

According to Malagurski, those who were calling the suspects "murderers" before a court case had even started should not have done so, he called the court case itself "the biggest disgrace of the Serbian justice system".[13] The film chronicles several alleged inconsistencies between the statements of the accused and the court findings in the case, analyzing whether Taton was thrown off a ledge or had fallen while running away from the fight.[14]

The film alleges the trial was finished with record speed, and that the verdict didn't explain what happened that day, since none of the evidence provided answers to how Brice Taton fell off the ledge.[15] The film comes to the conclusion that the media and state and legal institutions misrepresented the case, and attempts to explain why this happened.[16]

Interviewees[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b A film about Brice Taton Politika Newspaper | 27 June 2012
  2. ^ The Presumption of Justice Krstarica film page
  3. ^ Premiere in Belgrade 24sata, Source: Tanjug | 26 June 2012
  4. ^ Vojvodina premiere Subotica.com | 29 June 2012
  5. ^ Niš premiere RadioCity | 14 October 2012
  6. ^ Bačka Palanka premiere Tourist Organization of Bačka Palanka | 1 October 2012
  7. ^ Zrenjanin premiere IloveZrenjanin | 24 October 2012
  8. ^ Pančevo premiere Radio Pančevo
  9. ^ Sremski Karlovci premiere F@M Management Faculty | 29 October 2012
  10. ^ Nova Pazova premiere Dveri | February 2013
  11. ^ The truth about the death of Brice Taton Alo Newspaper | 26 June 2012
  12. ^ A documentary about Brice Taton announced Večernje Novosti Newspaper | 26 June 2012
  13. ^ Press conference report NSPM | 26 June 2012
  14. ^ Interview with Boris Malagurski Press Newspaper | 28 June 2012
  15. ^ The Taton Case - The Presumption of Justice Pečat magazine | 5 July 2012
  16. ^ The Taton case in a new documentary Pravda Newspaper | 26 June 2012

External links[edit]