After the protests in Belgrade and Novi Sad in early July, misdemeanor courts handed down a total of 43 convictions in expedited proceedings. Almost half of these verdicts were reached based on statements by police officers, whereas the judges did not consider statements by citizens to be true. According to a CINS analysis, for similar cases of insulting a police officer or carrying a flare some received a minimum fine, while others were sentenced to prison. Two judges of the Misdemeanor Court in Belgrade particularly stood out in terms of sentencing, as out of the total 12 verdicts we had access to they handed down prison sentences in as many as nine.

Although no major incidents occurred at a protest in Niš, nor were there any clashes between the demonstrators and police, plainclothes policemen attempted to arrest 24-year-old Mitar Stojanović after the demonstrations on July 8, while he was sitting with his friends at a bar. Stojanović claims that they did not show any ID, that they pulled guns, and that he was questioned in the premises of the Security Information Agency in Niš.

Although the July 9 protests in several Serbian cities passed in a predominantly peaceful atmosphere, the public is still disturbed by what was seen on the streets on July 7 and 8 – large quantities of tear gas, violence, brutal attacks by the police on demonstrators, even on those who posed no threat. While representatives of non-governmental organizations say that unauthorized use of force by the police is prohibited, some of the protesters have told CINS that police beat them even though they had not participated in the riots.

A seven-month struggle for information on how much budget money was given to MPs in the previous period ended with data for 402 MPs, but not for one familiar name – Parliament Speaker Maja Gojković.

The Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) monitors the development of coronavirus in Serbia and its impact on the lives of people.

Although health care workers of the Clinical Center Niš in self-isolation were last week notified that they would receive two thirds of their monthly salary, after CINS’ report the Serbian government and the Ministry of Labor have decided that health care workers will receive the full salary after all.

The Serbian government has enacted a Conclusion according to which those who convey information from “unauthorized individuals” regarding coronavirus treatment spread disinformation and can be held accountable for that. The only ones authorized to give information are the prime minister, as the Crisis Headquarters chairperson, and the individuals authorized by said headquarters. The lawyers CINS talked with believe that the state of emergency does not justify measures that limit the free flow of information – especially not information pertaining to human health.

While the Serbian Orthodox Church has ordered priests to abide by the Serbian government’s decisions due to potential coronavirus spread, some of them are still consecrating homes ahead of Easter. Although they see nothing wrong with that, epidemiologist Zoran Radovanović believes that this is a risky practice during a pandemic.