Belgrade, December 11, 2025<\/p>\n
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In the week marking the International Human Rights Day, civil society in Serbia finds itself \u201cunder repression.\u201d This was determined by the international research platform CIVICUS Monitor, which downgraded Serbia\u2019s civic space rating from \u201cobstructed\u201d to \u201crepressed.\u201d This category, the second lowest possible, describes countries in which the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association are severely restricted, and dissent against the authorities can lead to serious consequences such as violence, legal prosecution, or imprisonment. We have witnessed all of these, and other forms of repression, throughout the entire year. Even the final weeks of 2025 are not passing without cases of violations of basic civil liberties and rights.<\/p>\n
The authorities continue spying on activists and political opponents. BIRN, in cooperation with the SHARE Foundation, discovered that during the detention of four farmers and environmental activists, the Security Information Agency (BIA) implanted the NoviSpy spyware onto their phones. In addition, farmers who dared to protest and show support for students are being targeted by excessive, selective inspections. Political retaliation also continues against employees in the education sector who supported the student protests and their demands.<\/p>\n
A group of masked men armed with metal rods attacked an activist from Subotica after he returned from a protest.<\/p>\n