Executive Summary
In 2024, Serbia’s civic space faced further deterioration, driven by escalating political hostility, the instrumentalization of public institutions, and targeted attacks on independent civil society actors. The ruling authorities continued to undermine democratic checks and balances, portraying dissenting voices as foreign agents or enemies of the state. Civil society organizations, particularly those engaged in human rights, anti-corruption, and environmental protection, operated in an increasingly repressive environment, marked by verbal attacks, institutional obstruction, and selective law enforcement. Against this backdrop, public trust in democratic institutions declined, and CSOs were forced to reconsider their engagement with state structures, shifting toward alternative forms of mobilization and international advocacy.
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During 2024, smear campaigns intensified against all those who criticize the ruling party and politicians holding the highest state positions. Activists, journalists, and civil society organizations were subjected to insults, false accusations, and ongoing targeting by politicians and media outlets close to them. Civic Initiatives were singled out in a 2024 tabloid Informer attack on civil society, where numerous accusations against the organization were made publicly, including the full names, salaries, sensitive financial data, and photographs of several staff members of Civic Initiatives.
During two waves of protests in Serbia—one against environmental destruction and the other against corruption—Civic Initiatives recorded numerous cases of citizens being detained in connection with the protests and being charged with the most serious criminal offenses. In relation to the environmental protection protests, Civic Initiatives documented 47 cases of detention, as well as instances in which detainees were charged with inciting panic and disorder and calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order. From the beginning of the anti-corruption protests, which followed the collapse of part of the railway station in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, until December 31, 2024, Civic Initiatives documented 48 cases of detention. These protests were marked by excessive use of police powers, unlawful use of force, illegal detentions, verbal insults from senior politicians, and smear campaigns and targeting of all those who participated in or supported the protests.
There were no changes in the financial or fiscal treatment of civil society organizations. Numerous cases were again recorded of public funds being allocated to GONGOs or phantom associations. There was no progress in the judiciary’s handling of previous corruption cases involving the allocation of funds to GONGOs and phantom associations, nor in acting upon the criminal complaints filed.
Due to continuous attacks and the government’s overt hostility toward civil society organizations, part of the civil sector made a coordinated decision to suspend cooperation with state authorities. Civil society no longer wished to serve as a decorative presence at meetings or a mere indicator for state reporting in line with obligations toward the European Union.
Key Positive Development for 2024
Protests against corruption initiated and led by student have managed to motivate different sectors including the judiciary to speak out publicly against authoritarianism, despite a landscape in which critics are faced with smear campaigns.
Key Negative Developments for 2024
- A Law on Foreign Agents was proposed by a satellite party of the ruling coalition in late 2024, with provisions mirroring similar drafts or adopted laws from the region and beyond. If enacted, this law would impose significant administrative burdens on CSOs operating in Serbia.
- Activists were subjected to prolonged border inspections, and foreign nationals were ordered to leave the country, accused of posing a threat to national security.
- Protesters faced arbitrary detentions and serious criminal charges, including inciting the violent overthrow of the constitutional order and inciting panic and disorder. Activists Mila Pajić and Doroteja Antić were forcibly detained by six unmasked men without identification, taken to an unknown location, and interrogated about their activities for four hours without access to legal counsel or contact with their families.
- Activists and journalists were targeted with spyware. Amnesty International reported in late December that police had installed sophisticated spyware on the phones of activists and journalists.
