Surveillance

Interpol notified Serbian authorities that it would not issue international arrest warrants against six of the twelve Novi Sad students and activists charged with preparing acts against the constitutional order, a group that has spent sixteen months abroad in political exile. The organisation, which does not act in matters of a political character, assessed the case as political in nature. The report reached the Higher Court in Novi Sad and the defence, which announced it would again seek to lift the detention and the warrants so the six could return and attend their own trial.

Police in Novi Sad arrested six people on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of preparing acts against the constitutional order and security of Serbia, in connection with the offense of inciting the violent overthrow of the constitutional order. Among those arrested were activists from the opposition party Movement of Free Citizens and the activist group “Attitude”. Another six activists from Novi Sad were in Croatia at the time of the arrests, and warrants were later issued for them.

On 25 December 2024, a 23-year-old student was detained at the Sava Center during an SNS rally, held for six hours at the Savski Venac police station without access to a lawyer, and had his phone data extracted using Cellebrite forensic equipment without a court order. Forensic analysis by Amnesty International confirmed that operatives spent two hours extracting data while he was being interrogated in another room and attempted to install an unidentified application. During interrogation, plainclothes operatives questioned him about activist networks, threatened him with prosecution for espionage, and pressured him to sign an agreement to become an informant - including swearing on his Bible. His parents' missing persons report was rejected five times by police. Cellebrite subsequently revoked licenses to some Serbian clients after an internal investigation confirmed misuse of its equipment.