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Several EU states react to the deportation of foreign civil society activists from Serbia

Police car; Photo: FoNet

BELGRADE – Three days after the police interrogation and deportation of 13 foreign civil society activists, Serbia’s institutions have still not offered an explanation of this action. Institutions of several countries whose citizens were deported, including Croatia, Romania and Austria, have reacted, while the Serbian civil society condemned the action as an intimidation attempt.

Austria-based ERSTE Foundation released a statement on 24 January, confirming that 13 participants from 8 countries in a conference in Belgrade were brought to a police station, questioned by the authorities and subsequently banned from the country. The conference was organized by NGO Academy, which was founded by ERSTE.

“Neither the team of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (co-founder of NGO Academy) nor anyone from the ERSTE Foundation was informed why this happened. The programme has been running since 2013 and several similar workshops have been held in Belgrade before”, the statement reads.

ERSTE Foundation also stated that on 23 January, the Austrian Embassy protested against the treatment of the participants of the event and their subsequent expulsion. Other countries whose citizens were interrogated have also reacted.

The strongest reactions came from Croatia, whose citizens were the most numerous among the banned activists. On 23 January, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia recommended to its citizens to delay all unnecessary travel to Serbia due to the inappropriate and unfounded treatment of Croatian citizens.

In recent weeks, the Serbian ruling party and the pro-government media have repeatedly accused Croatia of orchestrating the ongoing student protests. No specific evidence has been provided for these claims.

The Embassy of Romania in Belgrade confirmed on Thursday that it had requested an explanation from the Serbian authorities.

On the same day, the Serbian Ambassador to Albania was summoned to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania to offer clarification regarding this case.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia did not address the issue directly, but it issued a statement on Friday in which it recommended that Slovenian citizens avoid areas of mass gatherings and follow the instructions of security authorities.

The European Commission expressed concern over the arrest and deportation of civil society activists from Serbia earlier this week.

“We are concerned that peaceful civil society activists, from EU Member States and the Western Balkans region, were detained and later asked by the authorities to leave Serbia for representing a security risk,” a Commission spokesperson told N1.

“Measures taken in the interest of national security should be carried out in line with the Serbian legal framework, and in accordance with European and international human rights standards. Such measures should not restrict the freedoms of individuals, including foreign nationals,” the spokesperson said.

Serbian MFA: Croatian citizens treated in line with legal procedures, baseless accusations

Following an almost 48-hour silence of Serbian institutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia issued a statement on 23 January. The statement did not offer an explanation of the deportations and focused solely on the case of Croatian citizens as well as the reaction of Croatia.

“It is inappropriate that state officials and political actors in Croatia are today accusing Serbia of threatening the freedom of movement and speech of several Croatian citizens, who were treated in Belgrade by the competent state authorities in accordance with legal procedures and customary international practice”, the statement reads.

The statement adds that “inappropriateness becomes absurd if one considers the fact that Serbian citizens in Croatia are often treated in a manner that is not in accordance with the law, European values ​​and standards, or common sense”.

“The question that the Republic of Croatia needs to answer to its public is why none of the other Croatian citizens currently residing on the territory of the Republic of Serbia are experiencing any inconvenience or special treatment, but are instead welcome guests of our state, but that answer should also contain information about what the persons who are the subject of reactions from a part of the Croatian political public have actually been doing in Serbia”, the statement reads.

Serbian civil society condemns the actions of the government

National Convention on the European Union, which gathers more than 850 civil society organizations, issued a statement on 23 January condemning the intimidation and deportation of foreign citizens.

“This action is seen as a continuation of the pattern of intimidation and threats against civil society activists, under the pretext of involvement in so-called ‘color revolutions’ and other activities that some institutions deem to be security risks”, the statement reads.

It adds that such actions violate both domestic legal norms and the obligations Serbia has undertaken in its EU accession process and harm the country’s international reputation and damage the interests of its citizens.

Earlier, the Association Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia issued a statement condemning the action, stating that one of the deported individuals was their colleague from the organization WHW based in Zagreb, Croatia, whose area of work is contemporary art.

“The cowardly, illegal and vile treatment of colleagues from the civil sector from countries in our neighborhood is a dangerous attempt to strengthen the narrative about foreign agents, mercenaries and secret services whose intention is to intimidate the citizens of Serbia.

The statement was signed by dozens of CSOs.

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