A Serbian prosecutor said investigations are proceeding after the Trump administration’s recent scrutiny of U.S. foreign aid under USAID.
Police in Serbia raided the offices of at least four civil society organizations on Feb. 25, as part of an investigation into allegations that those organizations misused funds provided to them by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Serbian state prosecutor Nenad Stefanović confirmed the police raids at a Tuesday press conference
publicized by Radio Television of Serbia, a state-owned broadcaster. Stefanović said the police raids were necessary to collect evidence that the organizations misused USAID funds and may have engaged in money laundering.
U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have sought to reform USAID and
downsize its workforce. Stefanović cited recent criticisms of the agency by Trump administration members such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Trump adviser Elon Musk, as he detailed his latest investigative efforts.
Stefanović said he had also asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to help track down financial records as part of his investigation into nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
The Epoch Times contacted the DOJ for comment on the Serbian government investigations but did not receive a response by publication time.
The Serbian prosecutor named the four targeted NGOs as the Center for Research, Transparency, and Accountability (CRTA); Civic Initiatives; the Trag Foundation; and an office associated with the Human Rights House Foundation.
Civil Society Organizations Respond
CRTA confirmed police came to its office space in Belgrade on Tuesday. In a
statement shared on Facebook, the center said it was “fully cooperating with the state authorities.”
CRTA has taken part in election observing activities in Serbia. The organization also runs Istinomer.rs, an organization that does online fact-checking efforts and flags potentially inaccurate content for Facebook and Instagram so that those social media platforms can limit their reach.
The Trag Foundation—which describes itself as an organization supporting various causes, including women’s causes and entrepreneurship—also confirmed police activity at its office spaces on Tuesday.
The foundation posted a statement on Facebook stating, “We consider this move an attempt to intimidate civil society organizations and delegitimize their work. ” Civic Initiatives said in a Monday
statement that around 20 police officers took part in the raid on its office in the Serbian capital at around 9:20 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Civic Initiatives said the police officers did not present their search warrant during the raid.
“This is a serious assault on basic civil rights and a continuation of illegal pressure on civil society in Serbia,” Civic Initiatives said.
Further criticizing the police raid, Civic Initiatives said the Human Rights House Foundation office in Belgrade had not been a recipient of USAID funding.
NGOs Face Growing Scrutiny
Tuesday’s raids come amid ongoing debate within Serbian society over legislation that would require NGOs to register as foreign agents if they receive a majority of their funding from foreign sources. They would also have to disclose their funding and activities and label their material with a marker indicating they are registered foreign agents.In a memorandum explaining the foreign agent registration legislation, proponents argue that it provides a necessary measure of transparency because some civil society organizations “openly act against the state and national interests of Serbia.”
Serbia saw widespread unrest over alleged irregularities during its 2023 parliamentary election cycle.
On Dec. 24, 2023, some demonstrators tried to break into the Belgrade city council building.
More recent rounds of
mass protests have spread throughout Serbia following a deadly roof collapse at a train station in Novi Sad on Nov. 1, 2024. Some demonstrators have argued that corruption within the Serbian government allowed the train station’s construction to proceed despite shoddy workmanship.
Critics of the proposed foreign agent registration legislation, both inside and outside Serbia, argue it stigmatizes civil society organizations and stifles their freedom of expression.
The proposed Serbian law is similar to legislation
passed last year by Georgia after months of protracted protests throughout the country. Critics of Georgia’s foreign agent law cast it as a pro-Russian piece of legislation.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has warned that Serbia’s push to adopt a foreign agent registry could upend its efforts to join the European Union.
“As with similar initiatives in other candidate countries, such as in the case of Georgia, the EESC reiterates that such legislation is incompatible with the fundamental values of the European Union, which Serbia, as an EU candidate country, is expected to uphold,” the EESC
said in December.
“This draft law poses a serious and direct threat to civil society organizations, jeopardizing their role in safeguarding democratic values, human rights, and European integration.”
