Serbian activists charged after protest against Chinese mining company, 11 June 2024

In the summer of 2022, more than 100 individuals gathered at Mt. Starica, near Majdanpek, to protest against Zijin Mining, a Chinese company conducting blasting operations on the mountain above the village. The protesters aimed to halt these activities, fearing that the blasting would increase the community’s exposure to toxic dust from the extensive mining operations in the area. They also accused Serbia Zijin Copper of illegally operating on state land without the right to expropriate it...

Following the protest, three activists were interrogated by police, beaten, and imprisoned for one month on unclear charges. Their families received little information about their whereabouts or the reasons for their detention.

Now, two years later, these activists face charges of damaging other people’s property and by committing violence against Chinese workers. In an indictment read by Just Finance International, Serbian Public Prosecutor Ksenija Branković accused the activists of damaging property and inciting national and racial intolerance toward Chinese residents and workers in Serbia.

The activists deny all these charges, calling the indictment absurd. They insist they did not destroy any machinery, engage in racist behavior, or use violence. Instead, they claim they were subjected to police brutality and arbitrary detention. They believe the charges are an attempt by the Serbian government to silence their activism. 

“Instead of supporting this brave fight for the protection of nature and the rights of the local community,” one activist wrote in response to the indictment, “the government chose to implement a humiliating scenario of arrest and exile"...