{"id":23373,"date":"2026-07-24T14:21:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=23373"},"modified":"2026-07-24T14:40:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:40:52","slug":"serbia-end-pervasive-crackdown-on-dissent-and-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/07\/24\/serbia-end-pervasive-crackdown-on-dissent-and-rights.html","title":{"rendered":"Serbia: End pervasive crackdown on dissent and rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement<\/a> of PEN International about pervasive crackdown on dissent and rights in Serbia.<\/p>\n

\u2018The situation in Serbia is at breaking point. PEN International stands with the myriad writers who continue to be harassed by the authorities and pro-government trolls merely for daring to speak out. The international community must redouble efforts to put an end to this relentless crackdown. We must not forget that without freedom of expression, there can be no sustainable peace.\u2019<\/em> said Germ\u00e1n Rojas, Chair of PEN International\u2019s Writers for Peace Committee.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

22 July 2026 \u2013 The Serbian authorities must urgently end all attacks on independent writers, journalists, media, academics and other creatives, PEN International said today, amid a persistent crackdown on dissent. The organisation reiterate calls on international actors to help uphold fundamental rights in Serbia.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The situation for freedom of expression in Serbia \u2013 rocked by student-led protests since November 2024 \u2013 continues to deteriorate<\/u><\/a> at an alarming speed. State and non-state actors stand accused of escalating violence during the protests, leading to further violations of rights. Independent journalists and creatives remain at risk of physical attacks, verbal threats, smear campaigns and intimidation by public officials, law enforcement officials and individuals \u2013 with complete impunity. The space for independent cultural events is shrinking. Artists and cultural workers in Serbia have notably denounced<\/u><\/a> systematic loss of funding, restricted access to public spaces and media, and professional retaliation against those who dare express dissenting views.<\/p>\n

On 17 July 2026, Serbia\u2019s Ministry of Internal Affairs announced it had filed criminal charges<\/u><\/a> against military analyst and author Aleksandar Radi\u0107, after he spoke out about the alleged use of a sonic weapon<\/u><\/a> at an anti-government protest in Belgrade on 15 March 2025. An arrest warrant was issued against Radi\u0107, who left Serbia at the end of June citing<\/u><\/a> security concerns after pro-government media published surveillance footage of his teenage daughter. The Independent Journalists\u2019 Association of Serbia spoke out in defence of Radi\u0107, notably condemning<\/u><\/a> that his private communications with journalists had been disclosed as part of the criminal case against him.<\/p>\n

Already on 11 July 2026, a group of up to 30 youths verbally and physically assaulted<\/u><\/a> writer Vladimir Arsenijevi\u0107 in Belgrade, as he was planning to hold an event that day commemorating the 1995 Srebrenica genocide<\/u><\/a>. The Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office in Belgrade decided not to initiate criminal proceedings against two assailants who confessed to the assault. PEN International shares concerns<\/u><\/a> that such a decision would deny justice for Arsenijevi\u0107 and further prevent the Serbian authorities from identifying the masterminds behind the attack and holding all those responsible to account.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an ongoing and coordinated smear campaign<\/u><\/a> by public officials and pro-government media against Zoran Gavrilovi\u0107, sociologist and Executive Director of BIRODI (Bureau for Social Research), is emblematic of the mounting pressure faced by independent researchers and academics in Serbia.<\/p>\n

In an open letter<\/u><\/a> to EU leaders published on 12 September 2025, PEN International and PEN Centres from the former Yugoslav region raised profound concern over the alarming situation in Serbia and urged robust EU action. On 29 June 2026, Serbia\u2019s President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 \u2013 who routinely refers to journalists as \u2018enemies\u2019 of the state \u2013 announced<\/u><\/a> he would resign and that early general elections would be held in the next three to four months\u2019 time. With the crackdown on independent voices showing no signs of abating, PEN International calls once again on the EU and its Member States to use all diplomatic and legal tools at their disposal to help uphold human rights in Serbia.<\/p>\n

Additional information\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information about PEN International\u2019s work on Serbia, please see Writers under Siege: Defying Silence<\/em><\/u><\/a> \u2013 its Case List 2026 as well as Toxic Narratives: Silencing Expression in the Western Balkans<\/em>, available in Albanian, Bosnian, English, Montenegrin and Serbian here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The annual report of the partner organisations to the Council of Europe\u2019s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists deems Serbia a \u2018major flashpoint\u2019 for attacks on press freedom in Europe. PEN International is a member of the Platform and contributed to the drafting of the report (available in English and French here<\/u><\/a>).<\/p>\n

Note to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For further details, contact Aur\u00e9lia Dondo,<\/strong> Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International:\u202fAurelia.dondo@pen-international.org<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

For media queries, please contact\u202f, Sabrina Tucci<\/strong>, Head of Communications and Campaigns at PEN International:\u202fsabrina.tucci@pen-international.org<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement of PEN International about pervasive crackdown on dissent and rights in Serbia. \u2018The situation in Serbia is at breaking point. PEN International stands with the myriad writers who continue to be harassed by the authorities and pro-government trolls merely for daring to speak out. The international community must redouble efforts to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":23374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23373"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23377,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23373\/revisions\/23377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}