The report Serbia vs Falun Gong: (Un)Friendly Ties of Steel – Unlawful Detention of Falun Gong Practitioners during the Visit of the Chinese President to Serbia in May 2024 addresses the unlawful deprivation of liberty of members of the “Falun Gong” organization during the visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia in May 2024. It examines the illegal and arbitrary actions undertaken by institutions of the Republic of Serbia against members of the spiritual movement “Falun Gong,” who are Serbian citizens. The report provides a detailed reconstruction of the events of 7 and 8 May 2024, when eight members of this group – a longstanding global critic of the Beijing regime that advocates for ending the political persecution of their members in China – were unjustly detained immediately prior to the arrival of President Xi Jinping in Belgrade.
This report is based on research interviews conducted by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights with Falun Gong practitioners who were detained in May 2024, as well as an analysis of legal and legislative framework of the Republic of Serbia and a review of previous treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in the country. It also provides a detailed overview of the context in which these individuals have been subjected to persecution in Serbia from 2014 to the present.
The report, along with past practice, clearly demonstrates that Falun Gong practitioners in Serbia are victims of the Belgrade authorities’ efforts, ongoing for over a decade, to foster favourable relations with the Chinese government, which has been systematically violating the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners across China since 1999.
The report also contains recommendations addressed to domestic and international institutions with the aim of protecting the rights of Falun Gong members, as well as a call to end the unjustified and politically motivated persecution of this group in the Republic of Serbia.
You can read the BHS version of the report here.
You can read the English version of the report here.
