At a press conference on Tuesday, 24 December, civil society organisations will present key evidence on the forced unlocking and infection with spyware of the phones of journalists, activists and members of civil society. After that, requests will be made to initiate specific procedures to the competent domestic and international institutions.
The conference will focus on a serious case of human rights violations, illegal use of spyware and misuse of forensic tools for unauthorised access to mobile devices. The illegal activities related to the “NoviSpy” spyware and forensic tools of Israeli company Cellebrite, which were used by the Serbian Ministry of Interior (MUP) and the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) for unauthorised surveillance of journalists, activists and members of civil society, will be discussed.
The report by Amnesty International clearly indicates the widespread use of these technologies for spying and illegal access to private data of citizens. This illegal surveillance represents a serious attack on human rights, freedom of expression and privacy of citizens, with a particular emphasis on endangering the work of journalists and activists.
The conference is organised by the Belgrade Center for Human Rights, the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, Civic Initiatives, CRTA, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), YUCOM, Partners Serbia, and the SHARE Foundation.
