Belgrade, December 12, 2024<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The international alliance of non-governmental organizations, CIVICUS, has published its annual report on the state of basic freedoms worldwide. The report states that the right to protest is under threat around the world, and that the arrest of demonstrators is by far the most common tactic used to restrict the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. Serbia is marked as a “country of interest” in the CIVICUS report due to the pressures citizens and the civil sector are exposed to.<\/p>\n
That the right to protest is threatened in Serbia is evident daily, especially during the blockades following the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 15 people. Organized groups of people appear at the blockades to provoke and verbally and physically attack the gathered citizens. The attacks have become increasingly violent, with provocateurs not hesitating to drive cars through the crowds. There are also reports that the provocateurs are mostly from the ranks of the Serbian Progressive Party. A video has been released showing an SNS official issuing orders on what provocateurs should do. Local government officials have also attacked activists opposing the demolition of the Old Sava Bridge, while the Mayor of Belgrade does not consider it controversial to organize the arrival of ruling party members to rallies with the intention of harassing citizens, activists, and journalists.<\/p>\n
Aleksandar Vulin’s Socialist Movement has submitted a draft law on foreign agents to the Serbian National Assembly. The government is trying in every way to suppress any form of criticism, and it no longer hides its violent methods. Freedom of thought and expression is being suppressed in institutions, public spaces, and on social media. The future of basic human rights in Serbia is uncertain under a regime that uses the fist as a means of governance.<\/p>\n