A digital rights group disclosed on Monday that spyware developed by an Israeli firm had been deployed to target the phone of the rector of Belgrade University, a figure who has assumed a prominent role throughout nearly two years of protests against Serbia's populist leader, Aleksandar Vucic.

This weekend, the Balkan nation is holding a tense election widely regarded as a showdown between the protesting student movement and Vucic, who is seeking to extend his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party’s 14-year rule.

In September, digital rights organisations reported that no fewer than 14 activists and students had had their phones compromised and infected with spyware, among it NSO Group’s Pegasus.

The Citizen Lab group, which conducts forensic analyses of spyware attacks, stated in a statement that it could confirm with “high confidence” that Vladan Djokic’s phone had been infected with Pegasus spyware in 2026.

The group stated that it had conducted an analysis in collaboration with the Serbia-based SHARE Foundation, itself likewise a digital rights organisation.

A separate analysis is under way to ascertain whether the phone of associate prosecutor Rade Bajic was likewise compromised.

Bajic had been investigating alleged corruption surrounding a real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law — a project subsequently canceled.

In August, Bajic received an Apple Threat Notification on his phone.

Djokic on Instagram characterised the phone hacking as a “serious attack on my privacy, security and the integrity of the post of rector.”

He added that this constituted “yet another attempt of intimidation designed to prevent any critical position and public action.”

The Serbian authorities offered no immediate comment, having on previous occasions denied any involvement in such attacks, which were first reported in 2024.

Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group that is capable of covertly infiltrating smartphones, thereby enabling operators to read messages, track a user’s location and activate microphones and cameras.

It can be installed through so-called zero-click attacks, which require no action on the part of the phone’s owner.

The SHARE Foundation asserted that, absent an effective investigation, accountability, and a clear message that unlawful surveillance is unacceptable, “there is a serious risk that digital repression will continue and spread further, reaching every part of society and every critical voice.”

On Sunday the student movement warned that its meetings were under surveillance and alleged that the authorities intended to detain a number of its colleagues in the run-up to a major rally on Thursday.

The police have made no comment.

Scores of students have been detained in Serbia during protests over alleged anti-state activities.

Vučić, proffering no evidence whatsoever, has repeatedly asserted that student protests have been orchestrated from abroad with the avowed aim of “destroying” the country.

Protests erupted in November 2024, after a train station canopy collapse claimed 16 lives.

University students have demanded accountability for the tragedy in Novi Sad, which they contend was the product of graft-fueled negligence during renovation work on the train station.

In his capacity as head of the University of Belgrade, Djokic has thrown his weight behind the protests, rebuffing government pressure to bring an end to the faculty blockades imposed by students in the capital.

In March, police raided Djokic's offices, citing an investigation into a student's death.

Bajic, the prosecutor, was replaced after he spoke out about alleged corruption linked to the government’s plan to turn the bombed-out former military compound into a luxury complex financed by a company linked to Jared Kushner.

A government minister and several others who were charged in the case are on trial in Serbia.

Israel’s NSO maintains that its technology is furnished to government agencies for the purpose of combating serious crime and terrorism.

Yet investigations undertaken by journalists and human rights researchers have documented its deployment against journalists, activists and other members of civil society.

In November 2021, the U.S. Commerce Department added NSO Group to its trade blacklist, citing evidence that foreign governments had deployed its spyware to target journalists, activists and government officials.

The designation curtails the company’s access to U.S. goods and technology.