BELGRADE, Serbia — A recent report by Amnesty International has revealed that Serbia’s intelligence service and law enforcement have been conducting surveillance on journalists and opposition figures by implanting spyware on their mobile devices. The report, which includes testimonies from individuals who allege their phones were hacked in recent months, outlines how this malicious software has been utilized to gain unauthorized access to phones, capture private screenshots, and compile contact lists, transferring this data to a server controlled by the government.
The findings are detailed in a report titled “A Digital Prison: Surveillance and the Suppression of Civil Society in Serbia.” According to the document, law enforcement and the Security Information Agency (BIA) have been infecting devices while the owners were either detained or interrogated. Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Europe, noted that this investigation highlights how the Serbian government employs surveillance technology and digital repression as tools for broader state control and suppression of civil society.
In response to the accusations, Serbia’s police issued a statement indicating that the claims made in the Amnesty report are “completely incorrect.” They explained that the forensic tools used for surveillance are also utilized by police forces worldwide. The BIA also defended its actions through a statement on its website, affirming that it operates in complete compliance with Serbian law and refusing to engage with what it termed “nonsensical allegations.”
This report surfaces at a time when President Aleksandar Vucic is encountering significant challenges amid escalating anti-government protests, which have primarily remained peaceful. These protests have been spearheaded by university students and opposition leaders, particularly following a tragic incident last month when the collapse of a concrete structure at a railway station left 15 individuals dead on November 1. Many citizens attribute this disaster to widespread corruption and nepotism among government officials, which they believe contributed to inadequate reconstruction efforts linked to a broader railroad initiative involving Chinese state companies. Demonstrators are seeking legal accountability from those implicated, including high-ranking officials such as the prime minister and president.
President Vucic has alleged that Western intelligence agencies, non-governmental organizations, and foreign media are waging “hybrid warfare” against him and Serbia by financing protests unlawfully. The Belgrade Center for Security Policy, an NGO, strongly condemned the government’s exploitation of digital technology for surveillance purposes and has called for an immediate and transparent investigation into the allegations made by Amnesty International. The organization insists on prosecuting those accountable within the police and the BIA.
The center’s statement emphasized that such practices directly assault essential freedoms, including the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and association in a context of escalating civil unrest that reflects growing dissatisfaction with the regime. Igor Bandovic, the director of the center, remarked that the evidence indicates that Serbia’s secret service and ministry of interior have engaged invasive spyware tactics against virtually anyone who opposes the government’s stance.
Serbia, while officially pursuing membership in the European Union, has cultivated closer relationships with Russia and China, including collaboration with their intelligence services, under the premise of countering “colored revolutions” — street protests aimed at overthrowing oppressive regimes.