The phones of the rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, and the senior prosecutor's associate, Rade Bajić, from the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, were infected with spyware, Citizen Lab and Share Foundation have revealed.
Forensic analysis confirmed that Vladan Đokić's phone was infected with the Pegasus software of the Israeli company NSO Group in 2026. This type of attack does not require the user to do anything.
Đokić is one of the prominent figures of the pro-democracy movement, known for supporting student protests and advocating for university autonomy.
According to the data, Rade Bajić worked on the "General Staff" case, in which the prosecution raised the issue of the criminal responsibility of state officials, and Apple officially informed him in August 2026 that with a high degree of reliability he was the target of an attack by "mercenary spyware".
SHARE warns that the surveillance of people from the judiciary and universities threatens the independence of institutions and discourages acting in the public interest, as well as that impunity and the absence of an effective investigation create conditions for the practice to spread ahead of the October 25 elections.
On September 2, SHARE announced that at least 14 people, students, activists, members of parliament and councilors of the opposition, were spyware target, and the findings were confirmed by Citizen Lab and Amnesty International. Then Citizen Lab confirmed Pegasus on student Jelena Kontić's phone, which SHARE describes as the first confirmed case of successful Pegasus infection in Serbia.
Lawyer Jelena Kontić submitted a criminal complaint to the Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime against unknown persons from the BIA and the police and those responsible in the NSO Group.
According to the Financial Times, in 12 cases the targets contacted SHARE after Apple's warnings in August, and Citizen Lab says one phone was infected by a "zero-click" flaw in iMessage, which Apple has since apparently patched.
Pegasus is sold only to states and government services, and SHARE says its use costs millions of euros.
Cases of targeting journalists, activists and farmers have been recorded since the end of 2024. According to Radio Free Europe, the government has so far denied allegations of spying, and the MUP and BIA have not responded to media questions. The Criminal Code treats spyware as a computer virus, the use of which is a criminal offense.
Rector Djokic is a representative of the largest university in the country, and the prosecutor's associate is working on a case related to state officials. Therefore, monitoring them is not only a matter of privacy, but also of the independence of institutions.
The surveillance does not only concern the victim: the spyware allows access to all the data on the device, so everyone with whom she communicated is also affected.
For voters, six days before the elections, it is also a question of whether participants in political life can be sure of the privacy of communication. Until it is determined who ordered the attack, the question of responsibility remains open.
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