Author: Tijana Ilić

Published: February 17, 2026

Civic initiatives strongly condemn the public calls for lynching and the permanent eviction of the relatives of a person detained because of a traffic accident near Surdulica in which a Surdulica resident was killed, which were presented at the protest held on February 14, as well as the continuation of the campaign that includes collective targeting of citizens based on their nationality.

Of particular concern is the fact that public officials, including Minister Novica Tončev, participated in the communication channels in which calls for permanent eviction and collective punishment were spread. At a time when trust in protection by the state has already been seriously undermined due to widespread repression against critically oriented citizens and students, the presence of representatives of the executive power in an environment that normalizes ethnic retaliation cannot be neutral. The state has an obligation to ensure the rule of law, and not to support the transfer of responsibility for the non-functioning of institutions to vulnerable groups.

The same channels also publish photos and information of citizens who tried to protect family members and prevent the escalation of violence, as well as the journalist who reported from the meeting. Such public targeting is a form of intimidation and has elements of criminal liability, including incitement to hatred, endangering security and unauthorized publication of data. The targeting of citizens who prevented violence and a journalist who was doing her job professionally shows that the atmosphere of lynching is spreading to those who are trying to protect the law and the public interest.

After the attack on the family members, the bakery owned by them, as well as the citizens who shopped there, the protest also demanded that “for security reasons, the suspect’s family and immediate family should permanently move out of the municipality of Surdulica”. Such a request represents a call for collective punishment and ethnic discrimination, contrary to the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia.

We remind you that:

• Article 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia guarantees equality before the Constitution and the law and prohibits any discrimination based on nationality.
• Article 49 of the Constitution prohibits inciting and inciting racial, national and religious hatred.
• Article 387 of the Criminal Code prescribes criminal responsibility for causing national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance.
• Article 128 of the Criminal Code recognizes the violation of equality as a criminal offense.
• The Law on Public Assembly provides that the assembly may be prohibited if it is aimed at inciting violence, hatred or discrimination, or if there is an immediate danger of endangering the safety of people and property.

The individual criminal responsibility of the suspect, which is decided by the competent authorities, cannot be turned into a collective punishment against his relatives or into the ethnic targeting of the entire community. The demand for “permanent eviction” is a form of institutionalized discrimination and directly undermines the legal order.

We demand:

• Initiation of proceedings against organizers and speakers who publicly called for permanent eviction, lynching or discrimination.
• Urgent reaction of the prosecutor’s office regarding the elements of the criminal acts of inciting national hatred and violation of equality.
• The ban on future gatherings on this occasion, bearing in mind that the previous ones already contained public calls for discrimination and collective punishment, which is the legal basis for banning gatherings that incite hatred and violence.
• Determining the criminal and other liability of persons who published photos and data of citizens who tried to prevent violence in communication groups, as well as the data of journalist Dejana Cvetković who reported from the meeting.
• Determining the political, disciplinary and possible criminal liability of public officials who participated or were present in communication channels in which calls for collective punishment and ethnic targeting were spread, as well as their clear and unambiguous public disclaimer from such requests.
• Taking urgent protection measures to ensure the safety of family members of the detainee and all members of the Albanian community in Surdulica, as well as to prevent collective retaliation and further spreading of fear among members of the community

The right to peaceful assembly is the foundation of democracy, but it does not include the right to expel fellow citizens, collective punishment or incite ethnic hatred.

If the institutions do not respond to such calls, the message is sent that collective retaliation, lynching and discrimination is an acceptable form of action. This represents a serious precedent and threatens the safety of all minority communities in Serbia.