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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: April 18 – April 30, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Repression; Censorship; Police Brutality; Student Protests; Human Rights

This week saw the first attempt by the police to forcibly break the student blockade. In Novi Sad, the police hit the gathered students and citizens with batons and shields, injuring 31 people. Not only was there no condemnation of the police violence against the crowd by the representatives of the government, but the president of the state said that he was dissatisfied with the reaction of the police, who “did not do their job” as he stated. From April 25 to 27, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, visited Serbia. After the visit, the Commissioner appealed in a statement to the authorities to conclude investigations swiftly, to identify the perpetrator of the incident and ensure accountability concerning the alleged used of a sonic weapon on March 15 in Belgrade. In the statement, the Commissioner touched on other human rights violations that have intensified in recent months, such as: a campaign targeting students and protesting citizens, the expulsion of foreign citizens from the country, the use of spyware to monitor activists and journalists, as well as attacks on civil society organizations.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: April 4 – April 17, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Repression; Protests ; journalists ; freedom of expression; impunity; institutional abuse

The police forcefully removed the students who blocked the bus from Novi Pazar to the SNS rally in Belgrade. The police violently tried to break up the student blockade of RTS. The police raided the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš. Supporters of the ruling party beat a young man for chanting. Supporters of the ruling party beat a father and son for shouting slogans in support of students. Supporters of the ruling party physically attacked the Zrenjanin KTV team. Violence is ubiquitous. Violence goes unpunished. Violence is carried out by institutions.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: March 21 – April 3, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Repression; Surveillance ; Censorship ; Violence ; Impunity ; institutional retaliation against journalists; media restrictions

Professors and teachers who support the student blockades are under great pressure from the authorities and suffer numerous negative consequences for expressing their opinion publicly. Their February salaries were drastically reduced, but the pressures do not end there. Now state officials and pro-government media are openly calling for the arrest of the Belgrade rector and are targeting faculty and school professors on a daily basis. In the midst of a tabloid smear campaign, the dean from Niš was physically attacked. An older woman attacked the dean with a knife, and the fact that high government officials, starting with the president of the country, tried to relativize this violent act towards the dean, whom the president personally called a “criminal” just a few days before the attack, is equally terrible. At the same time, attacks continue on students and citizens who protest, as well as journalists who report objectively. Students in Čačak were attacked by a group of about 20 people, and students in Novi Sad were beaten with belts by a group of 10 men. In recent weeks, there has been an increase in the number of students and citizens who have been detained or invited for informational interviews. The first criminal complaint was also filed against a group of students from one faculty in the blockade.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: March 7 – March 20, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Repression; Media; Protests; Police; Freedom

On March 15, one of the largest gatherings in the past few decades in Serbia was held in Belgrade. Due to the importance of this event and the large number of events the day before and in the days that followed, this Thursday we have prepared for you Three Freedoms under the Magnifying Glass: A Special Edition, dedicated to the “15. for 15” protest. In addition, there is our regular report on violations of basic human rights in the period before the protest itself. In the first two months of this year, we recorded a huge number of violations of freedom of expression, assembly and association (almost half of the total number of violations of these rights recorded during the entire year 2024)

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THREE FREEDOMS UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS: SPECIAL EDITION

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Serbian

Keywords: Censorship ; Repression ; Protest ; Sound Weapon; Intimidation ; student demonstration; LRAD; Long Range Acoustic Device; Systematic pressure; surveillance

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: February 14 – March 6, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Repression; Journalists; Protests; Human Rights

The deep political crisis that Serbia is also reflected in numerous violations of basic freedoms recorded in the observed period. In Belgrade, on February 25, members of the Criminal Police Directorate, on the order of the Special Department for Suppression of Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, raided the premises of five non-governmental organizations: Civic Initiatives, CRTA, Trag Foundation, Center for Practical Politics, and the National Youth Council of Serbia. The Prosecutor’s Office ordered the collection of information from these pro-democracy NGOs, all because of the statements made by American officials against USAID. The raid comes at a time when the government is trying to present the current protests in Serbia as an attempt at a “color revolution” and after a months-long smear campaign by officials and tabloids on civil society, which loudly points to all human rights violations and irregularities in the work of the authorities. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Loznica filed an indictment against Zlatko Kokanović, an activist of the association “Ne damo Jadar”, in connection with the blockade of the railway crossing from last year, and requested a prison sentence of 14 months. This is the first indictment related to environmental protests against lithium mining, and the proposed prison penalty is a serious danger for all citizens who faced arrests and detentions due to their activism during the previous year.

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Protests Against Corruption in Serbia: A Review of Events and Institutional Response

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Corruption; Protests; Student Movement; Canopy Collapse

On November 1, 2024, a canopy at the recently reconstructed Railway Station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 16 people. Protests erupted across Serbia in response, with citizens demanding that the responsible authorities find and punish those accountable for the tragedy. During one such protest, students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, who were peacefully paying their respects to the victims, were attacked. It was revealed that the attackers were members of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and officials from local bodies and state-owned enterprises. This attack on students sparked the beginning of student blockades at universities nationwide, gaining broad support from various sectors of society, including teachers, workers, farmers, lawyers, artists, and others. Young people initiated a wave of protests against corruption and for the rule of law. Their demands are clear: they call for independent and accountable institutions that are expected to simply do their jobs and punish those responsible for the deaths of 16 people, as well as those who attack students and citizens engaged in peaceful protests. The student blockades began on November 22, 2024, and in the following months, numerous attacks and institutional pressures were applied on the students and their supporters. The repressive mechanisms employed by the government have proven ineffective, as students continue to courageously demand the fulfillment of their demands. The report in front of you is an overview of the events from November 1, 2024 to March 24, 2025, with a special focus on all types of pressure, attacks and targeting to which students and protesting citizens are exposed by representatives of the authorities and state institutions. It is not a comprehensive account of the numerous events that have taken place since the fall of the canopy, but rather an overview of the violations of the basic freedoms of citizens (freedom of expression, assembly and association) that marked the previous period. As the protests continue until student demands are met, the report will be updated regularly.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: January 31 – February 13, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Repression ; Intimidation ; Censorship; Police Abuse; Human Rights

Despite the authorities’ persistent attempts to portray the students’ demands as fulfilled, the facts show otherwise. One of the students’ demands is to punish those who attack participants in protests and blockades. New incidents and attacks are recorded every day, and the list of those who threaten protesting citizens continues to grow. Furthermore, while there is a declared commitment to dialogue, repression is secretly being carried out against everyone who supports the students. Professors and employees who publicly support the protests are being fired and reassigned to worse positions. Revenge is being carried out quietly, at the local level, and the existential threats against citizens are intended to discourage the mass expansion of the protests. However, the tactics of the authorities have not been successful so far, and citizens are rising up in large numbers, standing with the students and their demands for the rule of law and a state that does not promote or nurture corruption. In the past two weeks, several incidents have been recorded on the streets of cities across Serbia. Numerous instances of cars driving through gatherings have been noted. Bricks and firecrackers were thrown at protestors in Belgrade. The Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš was physically attacked during the protest. During this period, the persecution of activists continued. This is part of the ruling party’s strategy and the pro-regime media’s efforts to portray the protests as a conspiracy by non-governmental organizations and foreign powers against Serbia. Specifically, the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism requested account details from all banks in Serbia for five activists, citing the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing. This represents a continued abuse of the law to confront regime critics.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: January 17 – January 30, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Intimidation ; Violence ; Censorship ; Repression ; Rights Violations; freedom of expression

Two more female students were seriously injured in the previous period. This indicates a worrying trend of increasing extreme violence to which women engaged in activism are exposed. A student was hit by a car during the blockade on the day of the General Strike. The student hit her head on the curb and suffered serious injuries. On the day when the president of the state spoke declaratively about the necessity of dialogue, thugs, who came from the premises of SNS in Novi Sad, attacked two groups of students and on that occasion beat one young woman with baseball bats and injured her. The struggle of students, high schoolers and their professors, is the struggle of all of us. It is a fight against a corrupt system, a fight for the rule of law and the independence of institutions. In the observed period, 13 foreign citizens who participated in workshops organized by the Erste Stiftung were expelled from Serbia. Their expulsion is a continuation of the pressure exerted by the security services on domestic, regional and foreign activists and should also be seen in the context of the government’s attempt to present legitimate student protests as an attempt of foreign factors to interfere in internal affairs.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: December 26 – January 16, 2025

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Intimidation; Censorship; Surveillance; Repression; Protests; student blockades

Yesterday we witnessed the attempted murder of a student who participated in the protest. The disturbing moment of the young woman being hit by a car should not be seen in an isolated context. In recent months, we have witnessed numerous attacks on students and citizens who demand the determination and bearing of responsibility for the death of 15 people who died when a canopy fell in Novi Sad. Student blockades started after one such attack on students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. Since then, the highest state officials, starting with the president, find different ways to justify the abusers. In addition, government representatives embarked on a serious campaign of targeting and endangering the safety of students, high school students and all those who support student demands. This kind of atmosphere just led to attacks like yesterday’s. The government must urgently stop spreading hatred towards those critical of the regime, because they directly encourage violence and tensions in society. The number of violations of basic rights of citizens is almost impossible to count, but what is particularly worrying is the fact that these attacks are becoming more and more extreme and can lead to fatal consequences.

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Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: December 13 – December 26, 2024

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: repression ; censorship ; student protests ; surveillance; violations human rights ; illegal monitoring

Another challenging year is passing and towards its end the situation in society is still tense. Blockades and repression towards high school students, students, and citizens continue. Thugs hit the crowd with cars and beat them, the first misdemeanor charges for participation in the protests are starting to arrive, the media close to the regime are targeting, the security services spy on activists… However, the end of the year also brought hope. Hope was brought by young, smart and brave people who stood up to fight for all of us. For freedom, for equality, for a better tomorrow. They show us that our strength is togetherness and perseverance, that it is worth fighting for the rule of law, that it is worth fighting against corruption, crime, violence, arrogance, insolence and lack of culture. Their understanding and application of democratic principles on faculties gives us hope that future generations of those who will build our society will be better and more successful in creating a fair and equal society. The youth together with the citizens lit up Slavija last week, but their struggle will certainly illuminate the years to come, and we wish you a lot of courage, perseverance and youthful spirit in the next one!

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Series:Three Freedoms

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: April 18 – April 30, 2025

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: April 4 – April 17, 2025

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: March 21 – April 3, 2025

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: March 7 – March 20, 2025

THREE FREEDOMS UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS: SPECIAL EDITION

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: February 14 – March 6, 2025

Protests Against Corruption in Serbia: A Review of Events and Institutional Response

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: January 31 – February 13, 2025

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: January 17 – January 30, 2025

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: December 26 – January 16, 2025

Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: December 13 – December 26, 2024