EuroCosplay finalist from Serbia will not go to London

As you may have heard by now, this year’s EuroCosplay finalist from Serbia, Mona Radujko, will NOT go to London to the MCM Comic Con due to the fact that the UK authorities have declined the visas for her and her husband, Boris.

The official explanation was that Boris' monthly salary, standing at a strong middle class income for Serbian circumstances, is „too low for the UK standards“ and that they „do not find it credible that they (Boris and Mona) would spend their entire savings for a week's trip to the UK“.
We are shocked and speechless at this turn of events. Mona and Boris have submitted all the necessary documents, with proper invitation letters and confirmations regarding their official participation in EuroCosplay Championship. They had all the guarantees and more – and yet, they’re not welcome in the UK.

We cannot help but suspect that this was a politically motivated decision, in the sense that someone in the UK administration has chosen to deliberately disregard the documents submitted. This sentiment is particularly strong in the light of discovering that the finalist from Turkey was also denied her visa, while the competitors from Russia traditionally struggle every year to get the visa and attend the Championship, irrespective of the documents and guarantees they submit.

We are deeply grateful to the EuroCosplay staff who were as flabbergasted as we were with this decision of the UK administration. They were more than helpful in the given circumstances, and they promised Mona a comfort trip to the MCM Comic Con in May next year if possible – but only as a guest, alas, not as a cosplay competitor. As Sakurabana, we can promise that, together with the EuroCosplay staff, we will try to find a new strategy to approach the visa issue, at least attempting to find a way to increase the chances of future Serbian finalists to go to London.

Yet we have to express our deepest contempt with the UK authorities for blatantly disregarding the reasons for Mona and Boris’ trip to London, and making an arbitrary, political decision. Putting the EuroCosplay Championship finalists who are not from the European Union member states (but who are still European and, as such, equally qualified to take part in the competition) in such a disadvantaged position in which their participation depends on the whims of the UK authorities is, to say the least, a shameful violation of their human rights.