Note from LeftEast editors: In recent years, the Serbian government has grown increasingly repressive, enacting measures aimed at stifling dissent and tightening control over citizens’ rights. Most recently, activist Ivan Bjelić has been detained in Novi Sad during a protest following the deadly accident at the Novi Sad Railway station on 1st of November and is still being kept in custody. In the face of waves of protests and grassroots organizing against extractivism, state violence, and pervasive corruption, authorities continue to push for legal reforms that threaten to criminalize activism and shield the state from accountability. These reforms appear to be a direct response to a public that is unwilling to remain silent, as people mobilize to protect their communities and environment. The government’s latest proposed amendments to the Criminal Code, which target the very acts of organizing and protesting, aim to undermine civil society’s ability to resist, making it more difficult, if not impossible, for citizens to stand up in defense of their rights. We’re sharing the latest report on this by Iskra Krstić, originally published by Mašina.
Activists and legal associations have raised concerns that the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code would effectively criminalize citizens’ online dissent and decriminalize police brutality.
The Serbian public was given just one month to review the proposed changes to the Criminal Code and submit objections and proposals. Legal experts demanded that public consultation on such sweeping reforms should extend at least until the end of December, especially given that consultations for four other related laws – the Draft Law on the Judicial Academy, amendments to the Law on Judges, amendments to the Law on Public Prosecution, and amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure – were opened at the same time. The Ministry of Justice responded, remarking that citizens should be grateful they had any time for discussion at all.
This episode illustrates the state’s attitude toward independent experts and civil society on matters of legal reform. Legal experts have warned for years that prosecution and judiciary systems are increasingly being misused to serve ruling party interests. Combined with growing state violence against those opposing projects like the Jadar Project, these proposed changes appeared particularly alarming.
Activists and legal associations pointed out that the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code would criminalize citizens’ online dissent and decriminalize police brutality – just as another wave of protests is anticipated.
“Publication of Materials that Advise Criminal Offenses”: Could Reading a Facebook Post Make You Guilty?
The Ministry of Justice proposed a new offense, “Publication of materials that advise the commission of a criminal offense.” According to Article 343a: (1) Anyone who, through information technology or other means, makes available material advising the commission of a crime can be punished with imprisonment from three months to three years. (2) The same punishment applies to anyone who mediates access to such material. (3) Knowingly accessing this material via information technology can result in a fine or up to one year in prison. (4) This material is defined as any that contains audible or visual instructions or advice on methods or tools for committing a criminal offense.
“What qualifies as ‘instructions or advice’? Who is the ‘mediator’ in that context? What is meant by ‘any material containing instructions and advice’? And what is ‘conscious access’ to such material?” asked Rodoljub Šabić, former commissioner for information of public importance of the Republic of Serbia, in a statement for Mašina. He added, “Would reading a court verdict that describes a specific method of committing a crime fit this offense? Could the same apply to novels by Edgar Allan Poe or Agatha Christie?”
Given that many who participated in blocking rail traffic during an anti-Rio Tinto protest were charged with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order violently, lawyer Milena Vasić of the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (Yucom) raised concerns: could anyone calling for a traffic blockade now risk being charged under this new crime?
Extortion of Testimony Could Have Been Deleted from the Criminal Code
Another alarming amendment was the proposed deletion of the article on Extortion of Testimony. The amendment’s proponents argued it was redundant, as similar provisions exist elsewhere. Experts and civil society disagreed. Šabić noted that the alternate article only applies if illegal means cause “great pain or severe suffering,” potentially implying that the use of illegal methods for testimony extortion would no longer be criminal unless it caused severe suffering.
Vasić added that the Ministry of Justice stated that the deletion was proposed in order to comply with the recommendation of the UN Committee for the Prevention of Torture. In her opinion, such justification was technically correct, but still a cause for concern. “It is a question of partial application of international standards, which causes suspicion”, commented Vasić for Mašina. According to Yucom, if these changes passed, many ongoing cases of police violence could be dropped. The Serbian Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions also warned that deleting this article would undermine citizens’ legal protections and open doors for abuse.
No Penalty for Revenge Pornography – and No Penalty for “Cheap” Public Procurement Abuses
Civil society groups criticized additional aspects of the draft. Vasić pointed out how “The draft failed to intervene in criminal offenses against the environment, which would be required by the current political situation and the new directive of the European Union, which expresses the need to comply with regulations at that level”. The legislator also ignored the initiative to sanction femicide as a separate crime, along with the initiative to sanction the publication of sexually explicit content that was created by the abuse of trust, i.e. what we colloquially call ‘revenge pornography’, thus ignoring years’ worth of work, propositions and campaigns of feminist organizations.
What the proposed draft did offer was an easy way out for those abusing public procurement, as long as the value of the procurement stays under five million dinars. It also advised heavier sentences for certain homicides and rapes, which legal experts deemed populist and legally unsound.
36,000 People Signed a Petition Against the Draft Law
As the public debate drew to a close, two petitions were launched: one from the environmental group Eko straža and another from Kreni-Promeni, a movement known for its involvement in the Jadar Project protests, whose wide reach has grown over the years thanks to the numerous petitions it has been launching. Within 24 hours, Kreni-Promeni collected nearly 20,000 signatures, reaching 34,000 by the last public debate session on October 30. Meanwhile, activists sought international attention, highlighting the unprecedented suppression of political and expressive freedoms in Serbia.
These combined efforts made an impact. In her introductory speech at the final session, Maja Popović, the Minister of Justice, announced that the Ministry would adjust the two most controversial articles. The new criminal offense will now specify crimes like pedophilia, terrorism, murder, and forgery. Additionally, the extortion article will remain in the Criminal Code in its current form.
Despite this “victory,” activists remain cautious. Another draft law, twice stopped by civil society, seeks to amend the Law on Internal Affairs to allow mass electronic surveillance, centralize police power, and potentially increase police brutality. Meanwhile, the government has pushed to dismantle a functional bridge in Belgrade, privatize remaining public utilities, and advance extractivist projects, including the Jadar Valley lithium mine. As authorities might say, “There’s much yet to be done for those willing to work.”
Iskra Krstić is an independent researcher from Belgrade, with a focus on critical urban studies. She is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. Krstić is an author at masina.rs