14 Apr Three freedoms under the magnifying glass: 10-13 April 2020
Belgrade, April 14, 2020
Violations of basic freedoms in Serbia during the state of emergency
10-13 April, 2020
Due to the new situation in the world caused by the global pandemic of the Covid-19 virus and the declaration of a state of emergency on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, in addition to violations of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression, given the circumstances, Civic Initiatives will monitor other human rights in the coming period.
Following the adoption and subsequent withdrawal of the conclusion on the centralizing information, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted a new measure that hinders the work and objective and timely information of citizens. It is a measure of banning the presence of journalists at Crisis Staff press conferences, allegedly to decrease the possibility of infecting the journalists. However, in addition to this unwanted “concern” for the well-being of journalists, the authorities did not show the will to respond to the more frequent and unscrupulous attacks on media outlets and journalists coming from top state officials and pro-regime tabloids. Apart from the virus pandemic, Serbia is also facing a serious crisis of democracy, as can be seen from the reactions of relevant international organizations, which recognize that legislative power has been marginalized in Serbia and that its role has been fully taken over by the executive power, which is why the OSCE appealed to state authorities for reclaiming Parliament’s role in the area of scrutiny of emergency measures.
An overview of the cases recorded during this period can be downloaded below.
violations of basic rights during state of emergency in serbia: 10-13 April
Civic Initiatives publish reviews of violations of these rights twice a week. You can see all the previous reviews here.