08 May Three freedoms under the magnifying glass: 4-7 May 2020
Belgrade, May 7, 2020
Violations of basic freedoms in Serbia during the state of emergency
4- 7 May 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, Civic Initiatives have monitored all other human rights. Although the state of emergency in Serbia was lifted on May 6, given the large number of violations, the Civic Initiatives will continue to monitor the situation in the field of all human rights in the coming period.
The previous period was marked by frequent violations of the ban on movement by certain groups of citizens, which is why the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, together with eleven other citizens’ associations, submitted an initiative to the Ombudsman to initiate proceedings to control the legality and regularity of work of Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding police actions on performances of some group of citizens with torches and pyrotechnic devices, as well as in connection with the permits for movement at the time of the ban on movement. Attacks on independent journalists by top state officials continued, and the focus of the attack was on the KRIK editorial office after the publication of an investigative text on the war in the Balkan underground. A report by the international organization Freedom House was published, and on their list of freedoms Serbia fell into the rank of countries characterized as “hybrid regimes”.
An overview of the cases recorded during this period can be downloaded below.
violations of basic human rights during state of emergency in serbia: 4-7 May