Belgrade, December 14, 2023<\/p>\n
The past two weeks have been marked by multiple violations of freedom of expression, assembly and association.<\/p>\n
Artist Andrej Josifovski Pianist was arrested on December 5 in front of the Serbian Parliament after writing graffiti. On the mentioned graffiti, written with snow spray that can be easily removed, it was written “Mom, how come the horses ride the people?”. The police arrested the artist and also identified passers-by who were then in front of the Assembly.<\/p>\n
Aladin Pau\u010dinac, a civil activist from Novi Pazar, was attacked while commenting live on social media about the construction works in a neighborhood in that city. Aladdin was attacked, with curses, insults and pushing, by a man who was previously convicted for violent behavior towards another activist.<\/p>\n
The annual report of the global alliance of civil society organizations CIVICUS testifies to the poor conditions in which civil society organizations and activists in Serbia operate. For the fifth year in a row, in the CIVICUS report, Serbia has been rated as a country where there is obstruction of civil society activities, and as examples that confirm this, among others, cases of the use of force by the police against environmental activists, as well as an increasing number of SLAPP lawsuits faced by both journalists and activists were mentioned.<\/p>\n