BELGRADE – Co-president of the Serbian Green-Left Front (ZLF) party, Radomir Lazović, said today that he had been subjected to surveillance, along with 13 members of the Student movement and activists, during the elections held in 10 local self-government units in March this year.
Yesterday, SHARE Foundation announced that at least 14 people in Serbia were targeted with advanced spyware since the beginning of 2026 – the largest documented wave of such surveillance in Serbia to date.
“In the previous period, at least since the beginning of this year, I, together with 13 students and activists, have been the target of a dirty campaign of surveillance of political opponents conducted by the ruling SNS,” Lazović said at a press conference in front of the National Assembly building, FoNet news agency reported.
He said that, in his case, the Pegasus software was most likely used. He described it as military-grade software that is sold exclusively to government agencies and can be installed remotely without any interaction by the user.
Lazović said that the attack involved complete control over his phone, which was with him at all times, adding that they discovered the attack in mid-August after he received a warning from Apple.
“As was the case with the students and activists, these attacks took place during the local elections in March 2026, in which the ZLF played an active role, conducting door-to-door campaigning and assisting joint electoral lists, even though we ourselves were not on any of those lists,” Lazović stressed.
He said that he did not believe this was the main motive for the surveillance, but rather that the main reason for “targeting him” was the fact that, during the period of the local elections, the ZLF had a major initiative involving EU institutions and EU member states, in which they called for a change in the EU’s approach toward what they described as the criminal regime in Serbia.
“This initiative included visits to Berlin, Stockholm, Paris, Brussels and various other cities, where we called on the EU not to turn a blind eye, but to provide clear support to the citizens of Serbia and to democratic change in Serbia,” Lazović said.
According to him, the unlawful use of spyware and the attacks against a member of parliament and co-president of an opposition party, as well as representatives of the student movement, constitute a serious threat to democratic institutions and are taking Serbia directly in the direction of autocracy.
He said it was particularly concerning that these attacks were taking place while early elections were being anticipated, as they provide a clear picture of the electoral conditions under which the campaign is expected to take place.
Lazović said that the SHARE Foundation, Citizen Lab and Amnesty International had conducted an independent forensic analysis and established that the attacks had occurred. He added that, regarding the case, the ZLF would also contact EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, with whom they expect to meet next week.
ZLF MP Robert Kozma announced that the ZLF would today contact all international actors and missions operating in Serbia, particularly the EU Delegation, as well as EU member states, calling on them to make a clear and unequivocal statement regarding the spyware attack on the student movement and Lazović.
He said they would ask these institutions to state whether they support the struggle of citizens and students for a free Serbia and democracy in Serbia, for institutions that do their job in the interests of citizens and for the rule of law, or whether they support what he described as a criminal, autocratic regime that spies on its citizens, orders the police to stand by while regime-backed thugs beat citizens, and which, in Europe, ranks among the leading countries in terms of systemic and widespread corruption.
