The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy strongly condemns the unlawful and inhumane deployment of prohibited weapons, such as acoustic devices, against peaceful protesters during a public gathering of hundreds of thousands of citizens paying tribute to victims of the collapsed roof in Novi Sad. This act represents a blatant display of force and an attempt to incite chaos, aiming to delegitimise protests and criminalise peaceful citizens.

In light of yesterday’s events at the rally in front of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) and in Pioneer Park, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy strongly condemns the instrumentalisation of the police in defence of the regime and reminds that the abuse of the security sector institutions in Serbia has been a long-standing trend.

We strongly condemn today’s armed police raid on the premises of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) without a proper court warrant.

On February 14, regime-controlled tabloids published articles filled with disinformation, accusing Jelena Jovanović, Operations Manager of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), of orchestrating local protests allegedly funded through BCSP projects. These accusations are entirely unfounded and represent yet another attempt to criminalise civil society in Serbia.

Civil society in Serbia strongly condemns the targeting of Maja Stojanović and Dragan Popović by the President of the Republic of Serbia, which has directly led to new threats and intimidation through pro-government tabloids.

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) strongly condemns the Serbian authorities’ misuse of digital technologies for surveillance of citizens, as detailed in the Amnesty International report "Digital Prison: Surveillance and Repression of Civil Society in Serbia."

A large number of unfounded detentions and arrests of citizens in recent weeks have been accompanied by propaganda against alleged foreign mercenaries who, in the interest of hostile foreign countries, are said to be undermining the state order. The goal of such manipulations, propagated by government representatives and media controlled by it, is to justify repression against political dissenters and to deter citizens from participating in legitimate and legal protests through fear.

There are many findings of domestic and foreign research organisations that unequivocally indicate that Serbia is a captured state, with a hybrid political regime. Security institutions play a major role in the capture of the state and the collapse of democracy in Serbia, as well as in preserving the situation the way it is.

The half-day conference titled “Behind the Scenes of the Balkan Defence Policies,” organised by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, was the opportunity to present and discuss the main findings of the latest edition of the Balkan Defence Monitor.