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Brnabić says state did not spy on students involved in blockade
🇷🇸 Serbia /Elections & Politics

Brnabić says state did not spy on students involved in blockade

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Ana Brnabić said the Serbian state did not spy on students involved in the blockade and rejected claims that mobile-phone spyware targeted them.
  • Students said at least 14 students and activists, along with a lawmaker and a local councillor, were monitored with illegal software.
  • Brnabić questioned the claims and said she had not seen concrete evidence, while the students said forensic findings and international organisations supported them.

Ana Brnabić has rejected claims that the Serbian state spied on students involved in the blockade, dismissing allegations that sophisticated spyware was used against their mobile phones.

Absolutely not.

— Ana BrnabićShe denied that the state had information that students were being spied on.

Speaking on Euronews Serbia, the Serbian Parliament speaker answered “Absolutely not” when asked whether the state knew that students had been monitored. She questioned why anyone would use expensive spyware against what she called a random group of 14, 12 or two people, and said no evidence had been presented to prove its use.

Students said at a news conference in Belgrade that at least 14 students and activists, one member of parliament and one local councillor had been monitored through illegal software on their phones. They said forensic examinations, including assessments by some international organisations, had confirmed the surveillance.

If it is such expensive spyware, why would anyone use it on some random group of 14, 12 or two people?

— Ana BrnabićShe questioned the alleged targeting of the students.

Brnabić also challenged the students’ account of why they were targeted, including their participation in the “Student in Every Village” campaign. She questioned why a user of software reportedly costing several million euros would leave traces that could reveal the operation. Referring to claims that the Sher Foundation and Amnesty International had confirmed the use of spyware, she said, “I do not believe a single word they said.”

I do not believe a single word they said.

— Ana BrnabićShe rejected claims that the Sher Foundation and Amnesty International had confirmed the spyware allegations.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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