- summary
- Five UN Special Rapporteurs expressed grave concern over the recurrent use of spyware and digital surveillance in Serbia around elections and protests. They said the use of NSO Group's Pegasus, the domestically developed NoviSpy and Cellebrite's UFED tools 'confirms a pattern of unlawful surveillance and intimidation aimed at activism and dissent', noted spyware allegedly installed during police interviews or arbitrary detentions, and warned that without full respect for assembly, association and expression the 25 October 2026 parliamentary elections cannot be considered free and fair. They called spyware 'inherently incompatible with human rights' and urged that its use and transfer be prohibited.
- country
- Serbia
- date text
- 15/09/2026
- campaign id
- SRB-CAMP-018
- civic actions
- Built on the civil society documentation chain: Apple notifications → SHARE Foundation → Citizen Lab and Amnesty Security Lab forensics → students' consent-based public disclosure (CR-SRB-002).
- id
- CR-SRB-003
- incident id
- SRB-121
- notes
- Added Sep 25 2026. Links all four Serbian spyware incidents as one documented pattern. Response type: RT-LEG (+RT-DOC); counters TC-21; escalation stage 5; result: Pending — International recognition of a pattern of unlawful surveillance, tied to election fairness; no Serbian investigation. (15/09/2026).
- outcome
- UN experts confirm a pattern of unlawful surveillance
- responders
- UN Special Rapporteurs: Gina Romero (assembly and association), Leopoldo Maldonado Gutiérrez (expression), Farida Shaheed (education), Andrea Bolaños Vargas (human rights defenders), Ana Brian Nougrères (privacy)
- source
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/09/serbia-use-spyware-against-opposition-and-dissenting-voices-affects
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