Akademski plenum demands BIA clarify student surveillance allegations

The Akademski plenum has formally requested that the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) clarify whether it conducted surveillance on a student assembly of the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium. The assembly took place last weekend at the Liman III local community hall in Novi Sad.

Expressing concern that the community hall, which is managed by the opposition, may be under constant surveillance, the Akademski plenum has asked the BIA to disclose who authorized any such monitoring and for what purpose if the agency was not responsible. The group also demanded an investigation into how transcripts of the alleged surveillance were leaked to media outlets controlled by the Serbian Progressive Party.

The Akademski plenum stated that such actions constitute criminal offenses, specifically unauthorized eavesdropping and the unauthorized publication of private recordings. Additionally, the group questioned President Aleksandar Vučić regarding whether political pressure ahead of upcoming elections has led to the surveillance of high school students following previous incidents involving university students.