Local Elections in Sevojno, March 29 2026 (BETAPHOTO/Dragan Karadarevic)
The Belgrade Center for Human Rights on March 31 said that in 2025, during the time of intensified civic activism, 1,636 citizens had been arrested and prosecuted.
“Direct display of opposition by citizens who have never been more ready or determined to protect their rights, and the increasingly repressive moves of the executive power marked 2025 in terms of the state of human rights in Serbia, when 1,636 people were arrested and prosecuted in the period from June to September,” is it said in the Center’s report.
Sanja Radivojevic, a member of the Center, said that 1,372 people faced misdemeanor and 264 criminal charges, citing data of the Interior Ministry and the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA).
“Each time civic activism intensifies, the police directorate looks to prosecute as many people as possible, not because there is a justified reason for such behavior, but it serves as a repressive measure, a message to citizens that they may be exposed for expressing any sort of civil disobedience,” she said during the report presentation.
Criminal charges were filed for a number of offences, including acts of violent behavior, obstructing an official in performing their duties and assault on an officer, while a large number of charges were also filed for endangering and undermining the constitutional order.
Dusan Pokusevski, the editor of the report, said the document had highlighted the two “most dangerous trends” - legal insecurity and impunity for human rights violations, adding that the state had not respected its obligation not to limit the right to freedom of assembly and to protect all participants in public assemblies.
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