Vucic's rivals say they're being targeted by Israeli spy equipment

At least 12 students and an opposition city council member have been targeted with Israeli surveillance software called Pegaz, according to representatives of a student movement in Belgrade. The revelation came during a press conference held in Belgrade, where activists claimed their phones had been illegally monitored using the Israeli program Pegaz. The student movement announced for the first time at a press conference in Belgrade that its activists were being eavesdropped upon using the Israeli Pegaz surveillance program. According to the students, all 14 targets of the surveillance campaign were active in the period before and during local elections in March. They continue to encourage citizens to participate in parliamentary elections and educate them about rights and active citizenship. The students emphasized that their phones contained vast amounts of data related to supporters of the student movement, which has now allegedly fallen into the hands of authorities. "We are not just targeting my privacy and safety. They have targeted the safety of everyone I've been in contact with, citizens, students, colleagues, and my family. With this, they have made all of them victims of surveillance and this system," said Jelena Kontić, the first confirmed victim of the Pegaz surveillance program in 2026, who is an activist and member of the group "Student in Every Village." The common point among all 14 surveillance targets was activism before and during local elections in March. They continue to encourage citizens to participate in parliamentary elections and educate them about rights and active citizenship. The students emphasized that their phones contain vast amounts of data related to supporters of the student movement, which has now allegedly fallen into the hands of authorities. "I think this is one of the main indicators of what this regime is prepared for. It's also important that this regime really fears groups of young people willing to fight for rights," said student Ognjen Rašić. He asked why they were attacked, saying, "Because we are participating in support programs for upcoming parliamentary elections. We are for rights and transparency, we hide nothing." "We are fighting to remain in the country. We are not criminals. They try to scare us, but this only gives us additional strength," said Milica Najdanović, a student from Niš. The Pegaz program costs millions of euros and is purchased by countries. It is installed remotely, without clicking on the target. Legal expert Ana Toskić Cvetinović said the situation is alarming: "The fact is that Serbia today is a European country with the highest number of confirmed cases of use of surveillance software." Students have demanded early parliamentary elections for several months, leading protests lasting more than a year and a half. Apple issued a direct warning to twelve targets in August 2026, informing them that their iPhones were targets of attacks using surveillance equipment. A report published yesterday by the Belgrade organization for digital rights, SHARE Foundation, with technical support from organizations Citizen Lab and Amnesty International, reveals the largest documented wave of targeted surveillance using surveillance equipment in Serbia. In two documented cases involving devices running the Android operating system, they detected a version of the surveillance software NoviSpy, explained at the press conference. Just hours before the press conference where students revealed that their phones had been hacked and used with surveillance equipment Pegaz, media under government control announced the announcement of early parliamentary elections for October 25. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić recently announced the early parliamentary elections but did not mention the date. He criticized the opposition: "We have accepted all their proposals. Soon we will respond and publish the schedule of elections, which will take place early," he wrote on Instagram. "We are ready for the elections. We know what you're doing. We know how you steal. This won't work for you. We will win on the elections. Together with the people standing beside us," responded Ela Zeković, a student from the Faculty of Political Sciences. Vučić canceled his Friday meeting with members of his Serbian Progressive Party in Novi Sad because his opponents simultaneously announced mass protests. The Pegaz program costs millions of euros and is purchased by countries. It is installed remotely, without clicking on the target. Legal expert Ana Toskić Cvetinović said the situation is alarming: "The fact is that Serbia today is a European country with the highest number of confirmed cases of use of surveillance software." In Italy, the government approved a new regulation allowing police to use facial recognition technology at public events such as concerts, sports events, and protests. The Italian regulation separates two types of use of this technology. The first is real-time identification, which police can use only in cases of serious threats, such as terrorism, or searching for missing persons, requiring approval from prosecutors. The second is post-event identification, which investigators activate after a criminal act to identify suspects. The biggest change relates to events where maintaining public order is necessary, such as protests and matches at stadiums. Police can now record and store footage of these events. The facial recognition system will not automatically analyze all present individuals but will be used by investigators only if a crime occurs. For this, they need judicial approval within 24 hours. If nothing happens at the event, the responsible authorities must delete the data after seven days. Experts warn against authoritarian abuses. Human rights organizations strongly criticize the new rules. Sociologist Diletta Huyskes warns that introducing this technology creates infrastructure for omnipresent surveillance. She emphasizes that future governments could quickly abuse such a system for authoritarian purposes. Journalist and expert on biometric surveillance Fabio Chiusi adds that there are extreme political parties on the political scene already demanding stricter surveillance with drones and thermal imaging. Doubts exist whether such political forces would respect the limits set by legislation. Researcher Laura Carrer from the Hermes Center warns that society normalizes surveillance that previously did not exist. She criticizes the lack of external oversight, noting that activation of the system in real-time is approved by prosecutors and not judges. Since prosecutors lead investigations, there is a higher probability that they will simply approve the use of the technology. Aljoša Ajanović Anđelić from the organization European Digital Rights (EDRi) highlights that the Italian law blurs the line between real-time face recognition and post-event face recognition. He warns that continuous recording and storing of biometric data of all passers-by brings the same effect of surveillance, even if the police perform the recognition later. If authorities use this data to criminalize protesters, the system effectively functions as real-time surveillance. Experts highlight the example of Hungary, which similarly exempted facial recognition from the category of real-time use by using static images instead of live transmission. The Hungarian government then threatened participants of the Pride parade with this system. EDRi fears that member states will use national laws to circumvent European prohibitions and spread systems for mass biometric surveillance. While Italy is breaking ice, other countries, such as Spain, are still preparing their legislation and have open options ranging from copying the Italian model to a complete ban.