Vienna, May 11, 2026.
Digital threats to civil space are no longer abstract risks, but a reality that human rights defenders, journalists and activists in Serbia face more and more often, said Uroš Jovanović from Civic Initiatives at the Supplementary Meeting on the Human Dimension organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, held in Vienna.
“Human rights defenders are increasingly facing digital surveillance and public intimidation with the aim of silencing critical voices. Documented cases involving highly invasive surveillance technologies, including “zero click” software – spyware that can access people’s mobile phones without any user action, as well as forensic tools to unlock phones in police stations and many others, are of particular concern, as stated in Amnesty International’s 2024 report “Digital Prison” on Serbia. year,” said Jovanović.
As he stated, in Serbia and throughout the region, digital surveillance often goes beyond the online sphere. Private communications and personal data often appear in pro-government tabloids and coordinated media attacks targeting investigative journalists, activists and government critics.
“Many civil society actors from Serbia, many of them present in this hall, are increasingly operating under the assumption that their communications can be monitored, leaked and misused against them,” said Jovanović.
He also warned that surveillance technologies affect the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly, as the use of spyware and digital surveillance during protests can discourage citizens from participating and further undermine democratic engagement.
In particular, it was pointed out that female journalists and human rights defenders are exposed to gender-based online violence and coordinated digital attacks.
“Citizens’ initiatives call on OSCE participating states to ensure strict legal guarantees, independent oversight, transparency and effective legal mechanisms regarding the use of surveillance technologies. Where serious allegations remain insufficiently investigated at the national level, which is the case in Serbia, participating states should make greater use of existing human dimension mechanisms,” said Jovanović.
Watch the speech in the video attachment: