Belgrade, April 30, 2025
Violation of basic human rights in Serbia
April 18 – April 30, 2025
This week saw the first attempt by the police to forcibly break the 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’Flerty, visited Serbia. After the visit, the Commissioner appealed in a statement to the authorities to conduct an investigation as soon as possible and find those responsible for the possible use of sound weapons against those gathered on March 15 in Belgrade. In the announcement, the Commissioner touched on other human rights violations that have intensified in recent months, such as: the 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.
For more information about these and other cases recorded in the previous period, see the full report below: