The Belgrade Center for Human Rights warned in a report that violence instigated by public officials was present all through 2023.
Center officials told a news conference that their 2023 report says that “the violence in society is the logical consequence of the violent narrative flooding the public scene which is used to maintain tension” often by public officials.
The report singled out the mass shootings in a Belgrade elementary school and two villages outside Mladenovac as the events that reflected the deep crisis in Serbian society. It warned that “the division of power principle has been almost completely destroyed with the executive authorities takng the lead over other branches of government and the president often acting outside his constitutional authority”.
It said that the judiciary was inefficient and had lost the trust of the public while parliament saw a large number of violations of parliamentary rules.
The report recalled the mid-December elections which included a large number of irregularities and no response from the judiciary.
It said that NGOs are finding it increasingly hard to operate and that anyone critical of the authorities is being threatened.
Source: N1
