Serbia Downgraded in Global Assessment of Civic Freedoms

Flag of Serbia.(BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC/MO)

In global assessment of civic freedoms, Serbia is downgraded from “obstructed” to “repressed” category, according to a report published on Dec. 9 by international research platform Civicus Monitor, which tracks the state of civic freedoms in 198 countries and territories. 

“This second worst category describes countries where freedoms of expression, assembly and association are severely restricted, and where opposing the authorities can lead to serious consequences, such as violence, prosecution or imprisonment,” according to the organization. 

In the 2025 report, Serbia is among 50 other countries in the repressed category, together with Georgia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and El Salvador. The key reason for downgrading Serbia’s rating cited by Civicus Monitor is the increasing repression of the authorities in Serbia against the continuous student protests, sparked by the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station, killing 16 people.

“Fundamental freedoms are in deep crisis, while the state is trying to suppress any form of opposition. Protesters are faced with police violence, attacks by groups close to the ruling party, mass arrests, surveillance, and retaliation, while those responsible for violence against them enjoy impunity. Moves that further raise tensions are pardons of individuals accused of attacks on protesters and counter-protesters camps set up by the authorities around key institutions in Belgrade,” it is said in the report. 

They called on the authorities in Serbia to immediately stop violence and politically motivated criminal prosecutions, withdraw changes that would criminalize peaceful gatherings, and launch independent investigations into abuses of police powers and illegal surveillance.

The repressed category, the second worst, refers to states where the space for citizen action is severely limited, while opposition to the authorities carries severe consequences, including violence, prosecution or even imprisonment.

Civicus Monitor is an online platform that tracks the latest developments to civic freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, across 198 countries and territories. The data is gathered in cooperation with more than 20 research partners from the civil sector and independent human rights assessments. Civic space is assessed in five categories: open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed, and closed.