U.S. State Department Report: Serbia Has Issues with Corruption, Political Pressure and Limited Freedom of Expression

U.S. Departemeny of State (commons.wikimedia.org/APK)

In its 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Serbia, published on April 12, the U.S. Department of State announced that Serbia has demonstrated a variety of human rights issues, including limited freedom of expression, limited freedom of the press, political pressure on its justice system and numerous cases of serious corruption by government officials.

According to the document, the “serious restrictions on free expression and the press, includ[e] violence, threats of violence, and unjustified arrests and prosecutions against journalists.” In addition, the report cites crimes such as violence or the threat of violence against persons with disabilities and members of the LGBTQI+ community. While conceding that the authorities have taken steps to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of human rights violations, many observers nevertheless believe that “numerous cases of corruption, social and domestic violence, attacks on civil society, and other abuses [have gone] unreported and unpunished.”

The State Department document also cited the assessments of other organizations, such as the NGO Freedom House, which claims that, with its “hybrid regime”, Serbia is a country where basic human freedoms and democratic institutions continue to erode without any indication of positive change ahead. Another segment of the report quoted Reporters without Borders, whose 2021 World Press Freedom Index describes Serbia as a “a country with weak institutions that is prey to fake news spread by government-backed sensational media.”

It was further said that the Serbian judiciary was subject to political pressure which, along with “reports of government pressure against figures who were critical of the judiciary,” remained a cause for concern. Illustrating one way in which fair court proceedings were undermined, the report stated: “Government officials and members of parliament continued to comment publicly regarding ongoing investigations, court proceedings, or on the work of individual judges and prosecutors.”

Lastly, the State Department report referenced the findings of the European Commission – according to which Serbia achieved poor results in processing war crime cases in 2021 – and implicitly echoed the EC’s call for improved cooperation between the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals and the Serbian Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor.