Violation of fundamental human rights in Serbia March 27 – April 9, 2026
During the last reporting period, we have witnessed a drastic escalation of physical violence and institutional repression. The local elections held on 29 March served as a focal point for coordinated violence, where the safety of journalists, students, citizens and observer missions was systematically threatened. This mood culminated in the unauthorized entry of UKP members into the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade, an unlawful intervention that undermined the autonomy of the University.
Along with school closures, the coordinated blocking of independent media accounts in Novi Pazar, and the mass prosecution of citizens who rebelled against the planned devastation of Rogozna, these events point to a systematic effort to use violence and institutional pressure to undermine basic freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
For more information about these and other cases recorded in the previous period, see the full report below:
Two students in Novi Pazar are suspected of preparing the murder of state officials. The criminal charges are based on a secretly recorded conversation. The NGO says: this is a continuation of the authorities’ showdown with political opponents.
Students of the State University of Novi Pazar, Hamza Ziljkić and Nikola Marjanović, were arrested on March 22 on suspicion of preparing the assassination of state officials, i.e. acts against the constitutional order and security of Serbia. That day, their apartments were searched and their computers and mobile phones were confiscated. That same evening, they were ordered to be detained for 48 hours, although, as their lawyer Maida Toković told DW, they were not presented with a criminal complaint beforehand.
On Tuesday, the Basic Court in Novi Pazar ordered them to be detained for 30 days, which their lawyers appealed, and the court yesterday (March 27) rejected the appeal due to, as Toković said, the possibility of influencing, changing or destroying evidence. “That is absurd, considering that the evidence (seized items) is at the National Crime and Technical Center,” Toković said.
Alma Mustajbašić, a researcher at the Public Policy Program of the Belgrade-based NGO Civic Initiatives, told DW that the case of Ziljkić and Marjanović is “a continuation of the practice of abusing the law and security organs in order to deal with political dissenters.”
“Captured institutions have become a means of dealing with political opponents of the ruling party. Since the beginning of the student protests, and previously, during the environmental protests against lithium mining, we have been noticing an increase in the number of citizens arrested and detained,” Mustajbašić says.
He adds that these citizens are charged with various offenses.
“From disturbing public order and peace, to allegedly violent behavior at public gatherings and obstructing the work of officials, to serious criminal offenses such as calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order and preparing acts against the constitutional order,” says Mustajbašić.
She reminds us that the goal of “authoritarian regimes is to have frightened citizens who withdraw and self-censor and who do not raise their voices against corruption and crime.”
“Preventing Ziljkić’s and Marjanović’s lawyers from gaining access to the case files is a direct obstruction of justice and a gross violation of the law,” emphasizes Alma Mustajbašić.
“Political processes”
In December 2024, civic initiatives launched the “Shield” mechanism, which aims to provide assistance to people who have been detained or arrested during protests, or who are facing legal proceedings. Over a period of one year, more than 1,000 arrests have been recorded.
“Among them are 36 arrested and detained on suspicion of criminal acts of calling for a violent change in the constitutional order and preparing acts against the constitutional order. Students, opposition politicians, activists, war veterans and one lawyer were arrested. They were detained for posts on social networks, and after illegally intercepted conversations that were first broadcast on pro-regime television stations,” recalls the researcher from Civic Initiatives.
Among them are 12 activists from Novi Sad, also accused of attempting to violently change the constitutional order, whose trial began in November last year.
This trend has continued, and according to data from Civic Initiatives, since the beginning of this year, 50 people have been detained in the context of civic protests, and five have been arrested on suspicion of preparing acts against the constitutional order.
“The way people are arrested, the illegal wiretapping and the lack of evidence that the suspects actually committed the acts they are suspected of, indicate that these are political processes and political persecution,” Alma Mustajbašić concluded for DW.
Violation of fundamental human rights in Serbia March 6 – March 26, 2026
In the previous reporting period, continuity of various forms of pressure and attacks on actors participating in public life was recorded.
Journalists were subjected to verbal and physical attacks while performing their professional duties, were interrupted during fieldwork, and faced digital attacks on online portals. During student actions in the field, including the “Student in Every Village” initiative, physical and verbal attacks on students were recorded. Professors and citizens were subjected to misdemeanor proceedings for participating in protests, while on the eve of the pre-election rally of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, cases of pressure from superiors on employees were recorded, including demands to attend the rally with threats of dismissal and other consequences for employment status.
For more information about these and other cases recorded in the previous period, see the full report below:
Nacionalna radna grupa za borbu protiv SLAPP-a izražava ozbiljnu zabrinutost povodom privatne krivične tužbe koju je kompanija „Millennium Team“ podnela protiv novinarke N1 Maje Nikolić, tražeći da bude osuđena na kaznu zatvora do godinu dana zbog, kako navode u tužbi, krivičnog dela narušavanje poslovnog ugleda i kreditne sposobnosti u vezi sa tekstom koji se bavi kupovinom hotela „Jugoslavija“ i državnim subvencijama.
The National Anti-SLAPP Working Group expresses serious concern regarding the private criminal lawsuit filed by the company “Millennium Team” against N1 journalist Maja Nikolić, seeking a prison sentence of up to one year for, as they state in the lawsuit, the criminal offense of damaging business reputation and creditworthiness in connection with an article dealing with the purchase of the “Jugoslavija” hotel and state subsidies. The use of criminal legal mechanisms against journalists for published information and value judgments regarding the spending of public funds represents a serious form of legal pressure and can have a strong deterrent effect on media outlets and journalists reporting on issues of public importance.
Additionally, we point out that the company did not request the publication of a denial before initiating the proceedings, which further indicates that the goal of the lawsuit is not to exercise the right to correction or response, but to exhaust and intimidate journalists.
This case cannot be viewed in isolation. The company in question has previously been linked to legal proceedings against media outlets and journalists, which are often publicly characterized as SLAPP-like lawsuits (strategic lawsuits against public participation), such as lawsuits with high damages claims against local media outlets in southern Serbia, as well as proceedings against other journalists and editors for reporting on its operations. Such practices indicate a pattern of strategic use of the judiciary to burden, intimidate, and exhaust the media and journalists.
The National Anti-SLAPP Task Force reminds that, among other things, criminal charges, threats of imprisonment, bans on journalistic work, and high damages claims for reporting on matters of public interest constitute actions with SLAPP characteristics aimed at discouraging critical reporting and narrowing the space for public debate.
We point out that this is another in a series of lawsuits with SLAPP characteristics, which contribute to narrowing the space for free and independent information to the public. We call on judicial institutions to examine the circumstances of this case with particular attention and to take into account the standards of protection of freedom of expression and the public’s right to be informed in their actions. We also call on the competent institutions to continue working on establishing effective mechanisms for recognizing and preventing SLAPP lawsuits in Serbia.
The protection of journalists who report on matters of public interest is not only a matter of protecting the profession, but also of protecting the democratic order and the right of citizens to know how public resources are being managed.
The undersigned organizations will provide all necessary support to journalist Maja Nikolić and will monitor this case.
The National Anti-SLAPP Task Force, consisting of:
For 35 projects funded with more than 92 million dinars in the competitions of the Ministry of Family Care and Demography, there is no publicly available data on their implementation, an analysis by Civic Initiatives shows. This is more than half of the funds allocated to the four January tenders in 2024. Some organizations without visible activities continued to receive budget funds in 2025.
The findings of the analysis were presented today along with BIRN Serbia’s research into millions of dollars awarded to organizations close to the government in a competition run by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, with the assessment that the questionable funding patterns are repeated year after year.
The analysis of Civic Initiatives included four public competitions announced by the Ministry of Family Care and Demography in January 2024. A total of 75 organizations were supported in these competitions with 176,700,553 dinars.
According to the analysis findings:
36 organizations do not have active profiles on social networks or their last activity was recorded several years ago;
for 35 projects worth 92,170,163 dinars, no information was found on implemented activities, results or reports;
10 of those 35 organizations received funding again in 2025, in a total amount exceeding 8.2 million dinars;
The highest individual amount per project was 6,000,000 dinars – four organizations received this maximum amount, while for three projects no information on implementation was found, and for the fourth there is only news about a conference held.
Alma Mustajbašić from Civic Initiatives pointed out that the Ministry of Family Care and Demography continued the practice of financing non-transparent projects and organizations.
“Money from the budget intended for projects of public interest goes to projects that are in no way visible to the public. This has wider negative social consequences, because money for projects that should contribute to improving the position of marginalized social groups and solving systemic social problems goes to organizations that only exist on paper. Of course, negative consequences are also faced by organizations that have many years of experience and relevant knowledge in the areas of the competition, and which remain deprived of funds, or receive very small amounts that cannot ensure the long-term sustainability of their activities. This most directly threatens the survival of organizations, and also endangers users who are left without the necessary services and support that these organizations provide,” said Mustajbašić.
You can download the complete analysis of the Ministry of Family Care and Demography’s competition by clicking the button below:
BIRN Executive Editor Gordana Andrić said that in the first competition of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, after a five-year break, almost 20 million dinars, which is almost half of the total amount, were awarded to associations connected to political officials or close to ruling structures, to those without clearly visible activities or to organizations that did not meet the formal requirements of the competition.
As she specified, the money was received by at least nine organizations connected to government structures, as well as at least 19 phantom organizations because there is no trace of their work, while the relevant organizations have not even heard of them.
An example is the association “Zeleni Sad” from Novi Sad, founded by the Minister of Environmental Protection Sara Pavkov, which has received at least 9.5 million dinars from various public budgets since 2019.
“Pavkov was the representative of the association until the end of 2020, and from the moment she became a public official until she left it, it received at least 800,000 dinars in a competition run by the City of Novi Sad and the Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth,” Andrić stated.
Also, although she left her position as the association’s representative after taking up her first public office six years ago, the headquarters of “Zeleni Sad” was in a building she owned until last year, and the organization was in the hands of her associate.
After the presentation of the research results, a panel discussion “Already seen: continuation of controversial practices in financing organizations” was held, with speakers Aleksandar Nikolić, Union of High School Students of Serbia, Alma Mustajbašić, Civic Initiatives, and Bojan Cvejić, ANEM.
See the entire event in the video below:
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