Peaceful Assembly

Developments related to EuroPride

The Ministry of Internal Affairs banned eight people from entering Serbia and filed criminal charges against two people who participated in EuroPride on 17th September 2022 in Belgrade.

The Ministry announced that they had acted on the request of the competent prosecutor's office and that two citizens of Turkey and Italy were identified, against whom criminal charges were filed for "causing national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance." The Ministry did not provide details about these cases, but it is assumed that they are people whose pictures were shared on social networks by right-wing profiles during EuroPride who were bothered by the way LGBTI people were dressed during the event. Given that these persons are not in Serbia, the police have launched a search for them. The police additionally banned a total of eight people from entering Serbia, citing "insulting public morals".

On 27th September 2022, the "Da se zna" association, which provides legal and psychological assistance to LGBTQI+ persons, announced that it had recorded 14 attacks, of which 8 were physical, during EuroPride on 17th September 2022 (see previous update). The organisation denied the statements made by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Prime Minister which claimed: "the state managed to protect all the participants of the EuroPride march."

"The claims of Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić that the state managed to protect all participants of the EuroPride walk are a denial of the horrific homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination that many people from our community were exposed to," the statement said.

It was also stated that most of these incidents and attacks were not reported to the competent institutions, "due to distrust in their work." Prior to the statement, the media reported on a group of 10 to12 young men who attacked a group of EuroPride participants on their way back from the concerts while a police informant was in the immediate vicinity.

Environment protest marked with repressions

On 23rd October 2022, environmental activists protested the planned construction of a new bridge in Novi Sad, claiming that it will devastate the last green oasis in this city. They gathered in Šodroš but were met with a strong police presence. Following clashes with police units, activists were detained and suffered serious injuries.

N1 shared a video of a woman with visible injuries to her head, who stated that a policeman hit her with his shield after she fell to the ground. Another activist reported on his social media profile that he had suffered injuries during the protest and posted a photo of his medical report by a medical centre which documented his condition. In another video posted on social media, Gendarmerie members were seen using excessive force against a woman who tried to get away from them, while protesters continuously shouted at the police to let go of her. Another video showed one of the activists with visible injuries to his neck. N1 reported that four people were detained, while three received injuries that needed to be treated immediately. All injured activists received medical care at the nearby activist camp, while N1 reported that all those detained were released in late hours of the evening. Activists told CSO Civic Initiatives that emergency services on the scene declined their request to attend and provide urgent medical care to the injured, stating that activists first needed to request urgent health care from the police.

Protesters were not only met with a large police presence but were also publicly vilified by politicians who discredited and insulted them. This is a continuation of a months-long trend aimed at discouraging citizens from exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly. On the latest protest, Novi Sad Mayor and a candidate for Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević stated that “the bridge will be built despite protests” and that “protesters cannot stop the state”. Additionally, Prime Minister-designate Ana Brnabić called the protests “ugly”, stating that a new bridge would lower pollution in the city and that she does not understand why “someone is preventing a better quality of life and a healthier environment”. Additionally, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which is conducting construction works in Šodroš, issued a statement in front of the protest, saying that “their business image was damaged” and that they will file “a claim for damages that will be submitted to the competent authorities of Serbia” for damages to “the construction site fence and construction site board”. Moreover, the police stopped and searched vehicles heading for the protest location.

As documented previously on the Monitor, since June 2022, environmental activists have been protesting the planned construction of a new bridge in Novi Sad, claiming that the works will completely devastate Šodroš, the last green oasis in this city, and an area inhabited by protected species, while also claiming that the works are a prelude to building a new residential and building complex similar to Belgrade Waterfront, a project marked with human rights violations. In July 2022, activists protested changes to the Novi Sad General Urban Plan (GUP), when they were met with brutal repression by private security and police, who exceeded their authority by forcibly detaining, kicking and knocking down demonstrators. Civil society organisations stated that for months citizens of Novi Sad have warned the government about the concerning proposals of the new GUP via more than 10,000 objections from citizenswhich competent institutions rejected. Additionally, in March 2022, criminal prosecution  has been initiated against three activists of the Youth Student Action (OSA) who interrupted a debate on the GUP, an action which showed that citizens were forced to resort to extra-institutional mechanisms in cases when institutions turn a deaf ear to their problems and prevent them from influencing the decision-making that concerns them.