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🇷🇸 Serbia /Conflict & Security

Student on alleged spying: Vladan Petrov’s statement is shameful, he should be defending us

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
  • Engineering student Milica Najdanović says people contacted her after a news conference to ask whether their phones had also been targeted.
  • Students in Niš say Pegasus spyware was found on some phones and that additional devices are undergoing forensic checks.
  • Constitutional Court President Vladan Petrov rejected claims that students were spied on, while Najdanović criticized his remarks.

Milica Najdanović says people began contacting her in fear after she spoke publicly about allegedly being targeted by spyware. Some told her they had received similar warnings but initially dismissed them.

Najdanović, a student at the University of Niš’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, said she first treated the warning as a routine notification. Conversations with colleagues later convinced her that someone may have gained access not only to her personal information, but also to the contacts of students and other people with whom she worked.

I do not know what was installed, but I know that a spyware attack was attempted.

· Milica NajdanovićShe described the findings and ongoing checks of phones belonging to students and colleagues.

She said two more colleagues in Niš realized they had received notifications as well. The students contacted the Share Foundation again, and the phones were taken for more detailed examination. “We do not know what was installed, but we know that a spyware attack was attempted,” Najdanović said.

We have nothing to hide. We clearly and openly stand behind all our demands and positions, but it is not normal for someone to be able to turn on a camera and record everything while we are simply talking to our parents and friends.

· Milica NajdanovićShe criticized comments by Constitutional Court President Vladan Petrov.

Students at the University of Niš who are taking part in the blockades said Pegasus had been installed not only on phones belonging to students who spoke at a news conference in Belgrade, but also on the phones of two law students in Niš. They said those devices would undergo further forensic analysis and that they would publish the results later. Najdanović said only one female colleague had so far received confirmed identification of Pegasus, while other checks continued.

Vladan Petrov, president of Serbia’s Constitutional Court, said the students had not been spied on, though they might have been unlawfully monitored. He also questioned whether the Serbian state was responsible. Najdanović called his comments shameful, saying students had nothing to hide and should be able to speak with parents and friends without someone secretly activating a camera. “We are victims of the system, but the system will change and we will be free again,” she said.

We are victims of the system, but the system will change and we will be free again.

· Milica NajdanovićShe described the students’ position after alleging surveillance.
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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