The Court of Appeal in Novi Sad ruled on Tuesday that three activists, detained for over two months on suspicion of plotting actions against Serbia’s constitutional order, are to be transferred to house arrest. Meanwhile, it ordered the Higher Court to re-evaluate the pre-trial detention of three others.
Accepting the appeals submitted by the legal teams of Marija Vasić, Lazar Dinić, and Lado Jovović, the appellate court mandated their placement under house arrest, subject to electronic monitoring. The conditions include a strict ban on the use of telephones and internet, as well as a prohibition on receiving visitors, for a minimum period of three months.
In the cases of Mladen Cvijetić, Srđan Đurić, and Davor Stefanović, the court annulled the Higher Court’s ruling and returned the matter for reconsideration, citing insufficiently substantiated reasoning regarding the potential for imposing a more lenient measure than custody.
Activists and students who have blockaded court and prosecution buildings in Novi Sad since last Thursday welcomed the ruling but pledged to maintain their protest until all detainees are released.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad formally indicted 12 individuals on May 12, accusing them of preparing and inciting actions against the constitutional order and state security, including attempts to instigate a violent overthrow of the government.
Six of the accused have been held in custody since March 14, while the remaining six had left the country prior to their arrests. Following the second extension of their detention by the Higher Court, Marija Vasić—a university professor of sociology and a prominent member of the Movement of Free Citizens (Pokret slobodnih građana)—initiated a hunger and thirst strike. She is currently receiving medical treatment at the Special Prison Hospital in Belgrade.
Aleksandar Petrović, a fellow member of the Movement and Vasić’s legal representative, told BIRN that the arrests were intended to intimidate government critics.
“They were made an example of what awaits anyone who dares to think freely, to voice dissent, to oppose this system,” Petrović said.
Two days before a large opposition rally in Belgrade on March 15, five pro-government, privately-owned television channels aired an audio recording purportedly made during a meeting of the Novi Sad branch of the Movement of Free Citizens. The broadcast named 12 individuals as participants.
The recording, which captured discussions on protest placards and contingency plans in case of violence, also included speculative remarks about entering the Serbian public broadcaster’s premises—though ultimately the participants expressed uncertainty about disrupting any live programming.
Police conducted arrests of six of the named individuals the following morning. The operation was recorded and broadcast by television outlets and widely disseminated by tabloid media. The remaining six had already departed the country.
Notably, before the audio had even aired, the state news agency Tanjug reported that President Aleksandar Vučić had previewed the broadcast, claiming it would reveal evidence of a coup attempt and calling on prosecutors to act.
