The resignation of spy Orlić is demanded

Politicians, journalists and activists in Serbia, as shown by the report of the international organization for the protection of human rights, Amnesty International, are eavesdropped by the government via telephone and IP addresses, with the help, as stated, of the police and the Security and Information Agency.

Putting the phone on airplane mode and speculating that "someone is listening" was not unnecessary paranoia.

Serbian services allegedly installed spyware in the phones of at least 13 journalists and activists, they claim Amnesty International i BIRN.

In two cases the software, which originates from an Israeli company Celebrity (Cellebrite), was used to "unlock" phones before they were infected with the spyware, according to the report.

Prema Amnesty, Serbian spyware called NoviSpy took screenshots of phones, copied contacts and uploaded them to a government-controlled server.

PSG demands Orlić's resignation

The Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) stated in its statement that it was a completely illegal misuse of technology, and demanded the resignation of BIA director Vladimir Orlić.

"The Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) demands the immediate resignation of BIA director Vladimir Orlić and the suspension of all those involved in the illegal misuse of digital technologies used to monitor citizens detained at protests in Serbia," it was announced today.

PSG states that "the scandalous information revealed by Amnesty International, that the monitoring program "Cellebrite" donated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, which was supposed to be used in the fight against organized crime, as well as the program "NoviSpy" - have been found on the phones of Ivan Bjelic, Nikola Ristic, Slavisa Milanov and other activists".

"We also call on the donor, the Government of Norway, to insist that this case be resolved, and all those who abused trust be convicted," PSG said in a statement.

"Abuse of institutions and defeat of civilization"

The spokesperson of the Kreni-Promeni movement, Nikola Stanković, assessed for N1, regarding the allegations of wiretapping of activists by the police and the Security Information Agency (BIA), that it was an abuse of institutions.

That movement is as he reported, he called for an urgent investigation and the establishment of mechanisms that, as he stated, "will prevent institutions from being misused for purposes of control and pressure on citizens."

As BIRN announced today, in the past year, NoviSpy software was installed on four activists' phones, while traces of unsuccessful attempts were recorded on another ten devices.

In reaction to BIRN's report, Stanković stated that it was a "civilizational defeat" and a direct recognition of the state's failure to build trust with its citizens, the movement reported.

A barrier to a democratic public

Serbia has found itself in a digital prison, because "it has an autocratic government that does not allow the establishment of any kind of democratic public", he assesses for DW quotes from this report Zoran Gavrilović from the Bureau of Social Research (BIRODI).

"We are now witnessing that the state is subordinated to one political party, and the mechanism for this is cultivating the personality cult of Aleksandar Vučić. The aim of this is for journalists and the civil sector to give up what they are doing. However, attention should be drawn here to the fact that, in addition to the BIA, the National Bank of Serbia also does this, which takes data from commercial banks on financial transactions of journalists and non-governmental organizations and delivers it to certain people in government," Gavrilović points out.

Democracy in the shadow of interests

The fact that Norway is a donor of software that is used for non-democratic purposes also opened up the question of the attitude of democratic countries towards the Serbian regime or - why do democratic countries turn a blind eye to obvious violations of human rights in Serbia?

Europe has changed in the last ten years, according to Nedim Sejdinović, and "now some lucrative interests have somehow become much more important, and some of the values ​​it represents have gone into the background." All this reflects on Serbia as well, and somehow democracy, human rights and free elections have become less important".

One should really be uninformed enough to give such an instrument to an autocracy, says Zoran Gavrilović.

"I think that people from certain embassies are turning a blind eye to the situation in Serbia and that they are finishing some projects of their development agencies here, and during that time they are destroying the seeds of democracy in Serbia," concludes Gavrilović.

Espionage - science fiction

Police Minister Ivica Dacic, when asked to comment on the report, answered rather nonchalantly and explained that in the age of modern technologies, most people "don't even know what this is about".

He characterized the story about espionage as another pressure on Serbia, and that such accusations can be directed against the police of any country in the world.

"These are forensic tools that are used exclusively for that. What they want to say here is that, while this is being done, another program should be installed in the phone that would enable these persons to be tracked. It already belongs to the domain of science fiction, that is, something that can be characterized as an attack on the security practice that exists in our country, which no one has ever claimed to be so technologically advanced," said Dacic.

MUP and BIA: We do everything according to the law

Shortly after the research was published, the Home Office issued a statement denying the report's claims.

"In connection with the Amnesty International report related to the use of forensic tools, the Ministry of Internal Affairs informs the public that within the National Center for Criminal Forensics, Directorate for Technology, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, forensic tools are used exclusively in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Serbia ", they announced.

"The trivial content of Amnesty International's "report" indicates the purpose of that organization, which is reflected in the work for the interests of certain agencies and pressure groups," the Security Information Agency (BIA) announced.

In the announcement, published on the BIA website, it is stated that the agency "works exclusively in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia".

"Therefore, we are not even able to comment on the nonsensical statements from their text, as we normally do not comment on similar content," the BIA stated on its website.

Source: Deutsche Welle in Serbian