Joint statement of civil society organizations
We strongly condemn today’s invasion of the premises of non-governmental organizations by armed police without a proper court order.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade announced today that the reason for the police raid in four civil society organizations was the suspicions “that were raised against USAID in the previous period by the highest state officials of the USA in connection with the misuse of funds, possible money laundering and unintended spending of American taxpayers’ funds in Serbia”.
The chief public prosecutor of the Belgrade Criminal Court, Nenad Stefanović, said at a press conference that the US Department of Justice had been asked for help in obtaining documentation “that can be used as evidence in criminal proceedings in the Republic of Serbia before the competent court” against non-governmental organizations.
He pointed out that there are grounds for doubting the legality of spending USAID funds, as indicated by “excessive concentration of funds on the accounts of several non-governmental organizations”, “non-transparent process of allocation of funds” and “absence of complete financial reports”.
Since 2000, the United States of America, through USAID and other American agencies, has granted development aid to Serbia in the total amount of over one billion dollars. The largest part of those funds ended up in the budget of the Republic of Serbia, and those funds were disposed of by the political majority through state institutions.
In 2024, Serbia received 40,144,406 US dollars from USAID, and most of the money went to the state budget. Civil society organizations and the media received the least amount of money.
USAID, among other things, donated 10 million dollars to the Government of Serbia for the “Better Energy” project, then 9.8 million dollars for reforms in the judiciary, 9 million dollars in the name of help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, 8.5 million dollars for the project for responsible government, which helped the development of the five-year strategic plan of the State Audit Institution and the Agency for the fight against corruption – these are just some of the direct donations to the account of state authorities.
It is also important to note that in the USA there are no investigations against non-governmental organizations.
It is clear that the aforementioned investigation by the Special Department for the Suppression of Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has nothing to do with USAID and the use of donations by civil society organizations. In this way, the authorities in Serbia are using USAID as an excuse for pressure and financial control of organizations that for years have been pointing out and proving abuses related to public tenders in Serbia, violations of the law and the electoral rights of citizens, and against which, in various ways, it otherwise leads a continuous negative campaign.
Of particular concern is the fact that the police searched the premises of the Civic Initiatives unconstitutionally, without an appropriate court order, with a malicious interpretation of an article of the law that cannot be applied in this case.
In this way, the government is openly abusing state resources to deal with those who point to abuses.
Instead of accusing these organizations of misusing USAID donations, competent institutions should investigate the spending of funds received from the state budget by phantom NGOs, for which there is evidence. The fact is that VJT has not acted on reports against these organizations for two years, and it has not determined how the money for voting was distributed in the call center of the Serbian Progressive Party, nor how the pro-government media spends the money they receive from contests. Please note that the authorities that announce tenders are obliged to submit financial reports on projects at the request of the information seeker, which they refuse to do. It is also clear that in Serbia the laws do not apply equally to everyone.
We demand that the harassment of civic organizations by abusing Serbian institutions be stopped immediately, that the government stop smear campaigns through the tabloids, and that those who really waste Serbian taxpayers’ funds be investigated, including all other funds that are allocated through state institutions.
Signatories:
Media Association (AM)
Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)
Association of Online Media (AOM)
Autonomous Women’s Center (AŽC)
Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCBP)
Beogradski centar za ljudska prava (BCLJP)
Center for Contemporary Politics (CSP)
European Movement in Serbia (EPUS)
Fond B92
Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation (SĆF)
Citizens’ Initiatives (CI)
Branch union of culture, art and media “Nezavisnost”
Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)
Komitet pravnika za ljudska prava (YUCOM)
Nezavisno društvo novinara Vojvodine (NDNV)
Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije (NUNS)
Partneri Srbija
Business association of the Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press”
Regulatory Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment (RERI)
SHARE Foundation
Serbian Philanthropic Forum
Belgrade, February 25, 2025.