Slovenian MEP Vladimir Prebilić has called on European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to reconsider the planned visit to Belgrade next month, assessing that there is "no justification" for such a visit.
According to Prebilić, their visit to the Serbian capital could create a "false sense of normality," at a time when Serbia has been accused of spying on students and activists through spyware.
"It was just a small step from the use of the sonic cannon in March 2025 to a fully operational spyware campaign against leading opposition activists and students in Serbia," Prebilić wrote on the social network X.
"There is no justification for Marta Kos and Ursula von der Leyen to visit Belgrade next month and create a false sense of normality," the MEP added.
According to the article, protesting students announced that more than ten students and opposition members in Serbia have been targeted by spyware since the beginning of this year.
Previous cases of espionage
In late 2024, Amnesty International first discovered previously unknown software for spying on Android devices, which it called NoviSpy.
According to forensic analysis, it had been used against journalists and activists in Serbia and could extract data from phones, as well as remotely activate the microphone and camera. Amnesty said that, with a high degree of certainty, NoviSpy could be attributed to BIA, the Serbian Security and Intelligence Agency.
In March 2025, Amnesty published evidence that two BIRN journalists in Serbia had been targeted with the Pegasus spyware in February of that year.
Similarly, a forensic analysis of a Serbian student activist's phone showed that Cellebrite technology was used to bypass the protection of the Android phone and gain advanced access to the device. An unknown Android application was then attempted to be installed, in a manner consistent with previously documented cases of NoviSpy.
The SHARE Foundation stated that it had identified at least 14 people targeted with advanced forms of spyware in early 2026. According to them, most of the targets were members of the student movement, activists, and local councilors from opposition parties.
Meanwhile, the BIA has described the claims of spying on students and activists as "banal sensationalism", denying the accusations. /Telegraph/
