Activists arrested after a mass protest against lithium mining in Serbia, 12 August 2024

A mass protest against lithium mining, which took place on 10 August in Belgrade, ended with the arrests and penalties for three ecological activists – Ivan Bjelić, Nikola Ristić and Jevđenije Julijan Dimitrijević. Bjelić was given a 40-day detention, and Ristić and Dimitrijević were given a 30-day detention for “disturbing public order and peace”, in a first-instance ruling described as harsh and “draconian” by legal experts. The ruling was overturned on 13 August after an appeal, meaning that the activists will be released, their lawyer confirmed.

The activists were arrested early in the morning on 11 August, at one of the two railway stations in the capital of Serbia blocked by protestors in an instance of civic disobedience. However, Bjelić, Ristić and Dimitrijević were not sentenced for blocking the railway, but for disturbing the public order by verbally assaulting a journalist of the pro-government Informer television, who reported from the spot.

Higher Public Prosecutors Office in Belgrade announced on 11 August that the prosecution of all the persons who blocked the railway would take place. Meanwhile, multiple legal experts criticised the ruling against the three activists, who were reportedly sentenced for the incident with the pro-government journalist. Lawyer Rodoljub Šabić, former Public Information Commissioner of Serbia, described the penalties as “draconian” and an intimidation attempt...