21 Sep Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass: September 8 – September 21, 2023

Posted at 11:57h in front page, News, Three Freedoms Under the Magnifying Glass by

Belgrade, September 21, 2023

Violations of basic freedoms in Serbia

August 25 – September 7, 2023

The previous period was marked by several cases of attacks on activists. It is particularly worrying that in three cases, activists were physically attacked.

“Local front” activist Predrag Voštinić was attacked in Kraljevo when two cars chased him, and then one vehicle hit him and knocked him off his bicycle. The activist suffered head and arm injuries, and this case was characterized by representatives of certain opposition parties as an “attempted murder”. The attackers were taken into custody by the police, but the authorities are expected to take further steps to shed light on this case.

During the blockade of the Sava embankment, one participant of the protest was attacked and she suffered minor head injuries on that occasion. An environmental activist from the “Guards of Kablar” association was also physically attacked when citizens and activists tried to block the work on the construction of a glass observation deck on Kablar. Activists of the Society for Protection and Study of Birds of Serbia received death threats via social media.

Appellation court in Novi Sad dismissed the lawsuit filed by Sanja Petrić, co-owner of “Galens” and “Promist” companies against environmental activist Dragana Arsić. This is one of the five SLAPP lawsuits filed against the activists of the “Defend the Forests of Fruška Gora” movement.

You can find more details about these cases in the full report below.