In a letter sent today by Amnesty International to the Prime Minister of Slovenia, the organization called on the Slovenian authorities to guarantee people’s right to peaceful assembly, and specifically to withdraw claims for protesters to cover exorbitant costs associated with policing demonstrations. Such claims are punitive in nature and aimed at deterring people wishing to come together to express their opinions in public. Requiring participants to pay for the costs of policing is a direct violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and could have a serious chilling effect on others willing to join protests in the future.
