Quote:In January 2025, one month after the publication of the report, the Security Lab received a request to test the device of a youth protester who had been arrested and detained by the Serbian Security- Information Agency (Bezbedonosno-informativna agencija – BIA) on 25 December 2024, following large student protests in Belgrade. The circumstances of his arrest, and the behaviour of the BIA officers, strongly matched the modus operandi that was used against protesters and that we documented in our report in December. A forensic investigation of the device conducted in January confirmed the use of Cellebrite on the student activist’s phone. The details of the arrest and attack on the phone of the protester are included in Section 3, below.

In this blog post, we provide a summary of the events around the arrest and targeting of the student protestor. In common with cases documented in our December report, Cellebrite UFED was used on the activist’s phone without his knowledge or consent, and outside a legally sanctioned investigation. The seemingly routine use of Cellebrite software against people for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly can never be a legitimate aim, and therefore is in violation of human rights law.

Quote:4. Conclusion: an urgent need for investigation into the misuse of digital forensics tools in Serbia

In light of this latest case of misuse of advanced digital technologies by Serbian authorities, all forensic and surveillance technology providers should suspend surveillance technology sales to Serbian authorities, due to a real risk of such tools being used as part of the ongoing crackdown on the protest movements. Vendors of IMSI catchers, spyware, and mobile forensic technology should suspend sales to BIA and other authorities in Serbia until a human rights compliant framework is in place to prevent further abuses.

In the light of the continued misuse of digital forensic tools for political purposes in Serbia and Cellebrite’s decision to halt the use of its product by some customers in the country,  the Serbian authorities must – – without further delay – investigate all reported cases of misuse of digital forensics tools against members of civil society and journalists in Serbia, put in place an effective and robust legal framework that prevents such abuses and provides independent control and oversight over surveillance practices. Finally, the authorities must provide effective remedy to victims of unlawful targeted surveillance and hold perpetrators to account for the violations.