Prosecution of Protesters

Alongside physical violence, Serbia's authorities have used the criminal justice system as a tool against protest participants - filing charges, ordering detentions, and initiating proceedings in ways that track political exposure rather than genuine legal grounds. Charges have been dropped, reduced, or quietly abandoned in many cases, but the process itself has served its purpose: creating a chilling effect on civic mobilization. This section documents who was prosecuted, on what basis, and what the cases reveal about the use of prosecutorial power in Serbia.
October

Citizen Lab and the SHARE Foundation confirmed that the phone of University of Belgrade rector Vladan Đokić was infected with Pegasus spyware during 2026 through a zero-click exploit. Rade Bajić, a senior prosecutorial associate at the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime who had worked on the Generalštab case, received an Apple warning in August that his device had likely been targeted; an infection has not been confirmed. According to Citizen Lab, at least 16 members of Serbian civil society are now known to have been targeted with mercenary spyware. No state body has responded.

Since late 2023, several cases have been documented in which the phones of journalists, environmental activists, students and farmers were unlocked with Cellebrite tools and infected with NoviSpy spyware, mostly during interviews with the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) or the police. Amnesty International published its report "A Digital Prison" in December 2024 and in March 2025 confirmed a Pegasus attempt against two BIRN journalists. The European Parliament condemned these practices in May 2025. On 2 September 2026, "Students in Blockade" said at least 14 people from the movement had been targeted.
September

The SHARE Foundation published forensic findings confirming that at least 14 people in Serbia had been targeted with commercial spyware since the beginning of 2026: members of the student movement, opposition activists, one member of parliament and one local councillor. Analysis carried out with the Citizen Lab and the Amnesty International Security Lab identified Pegasus, delivered through a zero-click exploit, and a new version of the domestic NoviSpy. The MP among the targets, Radomir Lazović, said the server infrastructure led to the BIA. No state body responded to the findings.
Update
University of Belgrade rector infected with Pegasus, organized crime prosecution associate targeted
Citizen Lab confirmed a zero-click Pegasus infection on rector Vladan Đokić's phone, while Rade Bajić, who worked on the Generalštab case, received an Apple spyware warning.
Update
Pegasus and NoviSpy against activists and journalists: a chronology of spyware surveillance
"Students in Blockade" announced that at least 14 people had been targeted by spyware, adding to a series of attacks on phones documented by Amnesty International.
Update
Spyware targeted at least 14 students, activists and opposition politicians in Serbia
Forensic analysis by SHARE Foundation, Citizen Lab and Amnesty International confirms Pegasus and a new NoviSpy version on devices of protest movement participants around the March local elections.
Update
12 branded: how a secret BIA recording became a coup case in Novi Sad
Twelve activists of PSG and STAV have faced prosecution since March 2025 on the basis of a recording their lawyers say was gathered unlawfully; the trial has been postponed again.
Update
MP Anna Oreg under covert BIA measures for more than a year
It emerged from an indictment motion against Novi Sad activists that the BIA had been monitoring and wiretapping the PSG vice-president since May 2024, under Belgrade Higher Court orders.
Update
Interpol refuses Serbia’s arrest warrants for exiled Novi Sad activists, citing political case
Interpol will not issue international warrants against six students and activists in exile, assessing the case as political - a decision that places Serbia's prosecution in a markedly different context.
Update
Military analyst charged over sound cannon claims, sought after leaving Serbia
Aleksandar Radić, who first claimed a sound cannon was used on protesters, is charged with endangering the constitutional order and leaking secrets; prosecutors want him detained and sought internationally.
Update
Andrej Tanko given suspended sentence, appeal announced
Court in Pančevo convicted ETF student Andrej Tanko of obstructing a police officer during a 2025 protest; his defense calls the verdict politically driven and will appeal.
Update
Targeting the witnesses: prosecutors go after those who spoke out about the sound cannon
Fifteen months after the sound cannon incident at Serbia's largest-ever protest on 15 March 2025, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade has announced a significant escalation - not against those who allegedly deployed the weapon, but against the protesters, student organizers, doctors, and public figures who reported on it.
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