Citizen Lab has confirmed that Vladan Đokić, rector of the University of Belgrade, had Pegasus spyware on his phone earlier this year. Đokić is a vocal supporter of student protests calling for the removal of former president Aleksandar Vučić from government. The lab said Serbian authorities raided his offices in late March after he refused to facilitate a crackdown on student protesters.
Separately, prosecutor Rade Bajić received an Apple threat notification in August, a widely accepted indicator of commercial spyware. Bajić had investigated a deal involving Vučić and Jared Kushner to build a Trump Tower on a protected historic site. He was removed from the case in November 2025 and later publicly called a criminal by Vučić on state television.
Researchers from the SHARE Foundation, Citizen Lab, and Amnesty International have so far identified at least 15 people targeted with advanced spyware in Serbia. The continued use of Pegasus against civil society raises questions about NSO Group's assurances that it does not sell to repressive governments. Neither NSO nor the Serbian embassy responded to requests for comment.