YIHR: Serbian Institutions Deny Access to Information on Croatian Expulsions

Serbian state institutions have allegedly denied civil society organizations access to crucial information concerning the expulsion of Croatian nationals, according to a report by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR).

The Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) and the Administrative Court are accused of withholding data on Croatian citizens who have been expelled from Serbia or denied residence permits on security grounds since the start of student protests.

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the only official figure available to civil society organizations is a statement by Croatia's ambassador in April 2025 that 15 Croatian citizens had been expelled.

Ivana Nikolic, a researcher at YIHR, stated that the only official figure available to civil society organizations comes from Croatia's ambassador, who reported in April 2025 that 15 Croatian citizens had been expelled. YIHR's request for MUP documents revoking residence permits for Croatian citizens was denied, citing violations of Serbia's personal data protection law.

Despite a ruling in favor of YIHR by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, the MUP has reportedly failed to comply. The Administrative Court also allegedly failed to provide the requested information, supplying only a single ruling from 2021.

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releasing the documents would violate Serbia's personal data protection law.