WB6SG Condemns Serbian Authorities' Escalation of Crackdown on Civil Society

Early yesterday morning, swarms of police raided the offices of four prominent non-governmental democracy watchdogs in Serbia. Armed with vague search warrants - some of which they refused to present as required by law - they demanded access to project and financial records at the request of the Anti-Corruption Department of the Higher Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.

At CRTA, an election monitoring organisation, police officers spent more than 24 hours - and were still there at the time of writing - going through and copying financial documents and project reports. Some officers were visibly armed, as was the case at Civic Initiatives, a member of the Human Rights House Belgrade, where more than 20 armed police officers entered without a warrant and stayed for more than 14 hours.

The stated reason for the raids? Allegations of financial misuse of USAID funds, following vague statements by US President Donald Trump and the newly appointed FBI director, both of whom suggested that USAID funds were being misused abroad. The prosecutor in charge of this political persecution, Nenad Stefanović, claimed that Serbia initiated the investigation and contacted the US Department of Justice for information on possible money laundering and mismanagement of US taxpayer funds. However, there is no evidence that the US authorities ever requested such an investigation, raising serious concerns about its legitimacy and intent.

This is the most serious escalation of the government's crackdown on civil society and comes amid large-scale student protests that the Serbian government claims are part of a 'colour revolution' allegedly supported by USAID funds. Serbian civil society organisations have been operating under increasing pressure for years. NGOs advocating for transparency, accountability and human rights have been vilified in pro-government media, subjected to exhaustive financial audits under the guise of anti-money laundering measures, and targeted with SLAPP lawsuits designed to drain their resources and silence their voices. Meanwhile, a Russian-style 'foreign agent' bill is currently going through the parliamentary process. Now the government has taken its repression a step further by resorting to direct police intimidation. This is not an isolated incident, but part of a wider strategy to dismantle independent civil society in Serbia. The message is clear: any organisation that defends democracy, human rights or demands accountability is at risk. The use of security forces as a political weapon marks a dangerous shift towards authoritarian rule, where state security forces are actively used to suppress dissent. Some Serbian journalists have warned that this latest escalation brings Serbia a step closer to a Belarus-style dictatorship.

The Serbian authorities must be held accountable for these abuses, and pressure must be brought to bear on them to uphold the democratic principles they claim to uphold. Failure to act now will only encourage further repression.

We call on the European Union, member states, international organisations, political leaders and other pro-democracy actors to take immediate and decisive action. Given that the current stance of the US administration is likely to be one of support for the repressive actions of the Serbian government rather than corrective statements, a clear European stance on yesterday's new level of escalation is all the more necessary - this is how we understand 'Europe united'.