In order to contribute to the protection of the right to protest in Serbia, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, in cooperation with the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, is implementing the project Legal Protection of the Right to Protest.
The goal of the project is to safeguard civic space and fundamental rights in Serbia by ensuring that individuals targeted for exercising their right to freedom of assembly and expression have access to effective legal assistance, protection from reprisals, and credible mechanisms of legal redress. In doing so, the project aims to strengthen institutional accountability and the rule of law.
Project activities will focus on providing free legal aid and representation to individuals facing criminal, misdemeanor, civil, labor-related, or discrimination proceedings as a result of their participation in protests or public expressions of dissent; educating and empowering citizens and professionals by raising awareness of rights related to peaceful assembly, protest participation, police procedures, and workplace discrimination, as well as by strengthening the capacities of medical personnel and other actors to document and respond to acts of torture, ill-treatment, and excessive use of force; and advancing accountability and systemic change through advocacy by monitoring, documenting, and publicly reporting on human rights violations, engaging with national institutions and international human rights mechanisms, and promoting reforms that expand civic space and protect democratic participation.
