To the Editors:

Momcilo Selic, thirty-four, an architect and a writer, and the youngest contributor to the underground journal Casovnik, which appeared in Yugoslavia last fall, was arrested in mid-February. (Other contributors to Casovnik are Dragoljub Ignjatovic, Mihajlo Mihajlov, and Milovan Djilas.) Selic was charged with writing and distributing to his friends a six-page article, entitled “Sadrzaj” (Contents). The article is critical of the West’s benevolent attitude toward the Yugoslav government. Without any prior public knowledge, on April 24-25, 1980, Selic was tried in Belgrade. Under Penal Code Article 133, which applies to “hostile propaganda,” he was sentenced to a seven-year prison term.

We earnestly hope that you will publicize this latest violation of basic human rights perpetrated by Yugoslav authorities.

Catherine A. Fitzpatrick

The Democracy International Committee to

Aid Democratic Dissidents in Yugoslavia

New York City

This Issue

November 20, 1980