Serbian Security Agency Out of Control, Ombudsman

In his 2015 report submitted to Serbia's parliament on Wednesday, Ombudsman Jankovic said the state of human rights in Serbia was far from satisfactory.

In the section on the police and secret services, Jankovic said the Military Security Agency, VBA, had actively sought information about the activities of various political parties and movements.

"The Military Security Agency collected this data even though there is no indication that circumstances exist that could establish its jurisdiction [in this field]," the report reads.

The report said the VBA has evaded democratic control and routinely refuses to hand over information that it is legally obliged to deliver to regulatory bodies.

According to the Ombudsman, VBA chiefs have relied on the uncritical support and protection of Momir Stojanovic, chair of parliament's committee for the control of the security services. A former director of the agency, he is a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.

The report says the agency has not accepted any of the Ombudsman's recommendations to stop illegal and irregular work.

"Out of 11 recommendations the Ombudsman made in 2015 in order to eliminate illegalities and irregularities, VBA has not carried out any of them.

"Public recommendations made to the President of Serbia to dismiss the Director of the Agency were also not carried out," the report adds.

Analyzing the police, the report says reform activities carried out in this field were controversial, particularly the preparations to sack a large number of officers.

"The minister announced that 1,000 police officers should be sacked but could not decide on what grounds; he simultaneously argued that the police had been 'criminalized' and that police...