Serbia
Serbia regularly reports data on hate crimes to ODIHR. In 2018, the Office of the Prosecutor General, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and ODIHR, developed Guidelines for the prosecution of hate crimes in the Republic of Serbia. A network of contact persons working on hate crime within the prosecution services was established and, with the OSCE Mission's assistance, the Judicial Academy has developed, integrated and implemented a hate crime training plan and programme.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 47 | 18 | 11 |
| 2023 | 53 | 4 | 2 |
| 2022 | 94 | 11 | 6 |
| 2021 | 109 | 11 | 11 |
| 2020 | 66 | 5 | 4 |
| 2019 | 86 | 14 | 10 |
| 2018 | 61 | 12 | 7 |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 2015 | 79 | 7 | 19 |
| 2014 | 87 | 21 | 14 |
| 2013 | 64 | 24 | 16 |
| 2012 | 36 | 39 | 37 |
| 2011 | 39 | 36 | 24 |
| 2010 | 37 | 35 | 13 |
| 2009 | 82 | 16 | 44 |
About 2024 Data
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The above data refer to the number of reported, indicted and convicted persons, not the number of criminal acts.
The above figures include offences of incitement to hatred, violence at sport and discrimination/violation of equality, most of which fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition.
Hate crime recorded by police
Some of the crimes reported to ODIHR were excluded from the breakdown below as they fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition.
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes Serbia's efforts to regularly report hate crime information and statistics to ODIHR. However, based on the available information, it observes that Serbia's recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Serbia would benefit from building the capacity of police and prosecutors to address hate crimes.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States agreed to a definition of hate crime shared by all OSCE participating States, and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished from hate speech and discrimination crimes throughout the recording and data collection process. To ensure that the motives of perpetrators are acknowledged, law enforcement must, as a first step record the bias motivation of hate crimes. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes.
ODIHR stands ready to support Serbia in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime reporting, as well as by providing further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in Serbia from the following civil society organizations:
- European Roma Rights Center (ERRC)
- Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia (SJOS)
- Association Da se zna!
- European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses
- The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC)
- International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF)
To learn more about these organizations, visit the Contributors page. In addition, the OSCE Mission to Serbia reported incidents based on its general monitoring of developments in the country.
All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that were broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and are listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received reports of 64 incidents that took place in Serbia in the following bias motivation categories: racist and xenophobic, anti-Christian, anti-LGBTI, anti-Muslim, anti-Roma, and anti-Semitic. In addition, several incidents involved multiple biases, such as anti-LGBTI and disability, anti-LGBT and gender-based, anti-Roma and anti-Muslim, and anti-Roma and gender-based. ODIHR observes that a significant number of incidents targeted the LGBTI community in Serbia, including several incidents perpetrated by on-duty police officers. Around half of the anti-LGBTI incidents reported were serious physical assaults while the other half involved threats or threatening behaviour. The LGBTI community was less likely to be targeted in attacks against property. The anti-Roma incidents reported to ODIHR included violent attacks against Roma men working as street cleaners, and incidents targeting Roma women and children in places of sanctuary, including at home or in a hospital setting. ODHIR also observes anti-Semitic incidents targeting well-known Jewish public figures for reasons related to the conflict in the Middle East. ODIHR received only a low level of reporting on Serbia relating to anti-Roma and anti-Muslim incidents and did not receive any reports on incidents targeting other religions or belief or disability hate incidents. This indicates potential gaps in the information reported here. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such might not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in Serbia.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in Serbia to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from Serbia click here and search by year and country.
CIVIL SOCIETY INCIDENT SUMMARIES
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia (SJOS)
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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Show info |
| 2024-04 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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Show info |
Anti-Roma hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-01 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-07 | Violent attacks against people | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
OSCE Mission to Serbia
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Anti-Semitic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia (SJOS)
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Show info |
| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia (SJOS)
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Show info |
| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia (SJOS)
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Show info |
| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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Show info |
Anti-Muslim hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
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Show info |
| 2024-07 | Violent attacks against people | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
OSCE Mission to Serbia
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Show info |
Anti-Christian hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | OIDAC
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| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | Jehovah's Witnesses
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Disability hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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Show info |
Gender-based hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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Show info |
| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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Anti-LGBTI hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-08 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-01 | Attacks against property | Association Da se zna!
OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-08 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-04 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-04 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-08 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-12 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-08 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-12 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Association Da se zna!
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | OSCE Mission to Serbia
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Association Da se zna!
OSCE Mission to Serbia
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