The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

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Jewel of Medina restocked in Serbia

16.09.08

The Jewel of Medina controversy rumbles on as the book returns to shelves in Serbia after initially being withdrawn.

B92 reports that Beobook publishing company director Aleksandar Jasić said the u-turn "would be good for Serbia’s Muslim community", who fiercely opposed the book’s publishing, for the readers, "who are the only ones competent to judge", and for the publisher. Jasić also said the readers' reactions so far were "very positive".

He explained that despite the fact that the book was withdrawn from the stores in July, copies were still available in the streets at double prices, adding that soon after the publisher dropped the book, pirate versions started to sell Beobook name.

Ombudsman Saša Janković was the only state official to react, by saying after separate meetings with Mufti Zukorlić and the publisher that in Serbia, "books are written and published freely". In a public statement Janković said that everyone had an obligation to respect human rights and freedoms, and that the state’s role was to protect and to enable human rights to be implemented.

B92

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