Marija Ristic
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marijaristic.bsky.social
Marija Ristic
@marijaristic.bsky.social
Technology and human rights fact-finding. Currently @amnesty. Lecturer @BardCollege. Posts about IHL, ICL. Occasional travel diaries. And Yugoslavia.
Good overview from @apnews.com on ongoing clashes in Serbia.

Dozens arrested, many injured and police struggling to contain violence from pro-govt groups.

apnews.com/article/serb...
Clashes erupt for a second day at anti-government protests in Serbia in a major escalation
Clashes have erupted for a second day at protests in Serbia between opponents and supporters of the government.
apnews.com
August 13, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Large anti-govt protests are underway in more than 30 cities and towns across Serbia. This is Novi Sad, where clashes broke out after pro-govt groups threw pyrotechnics at peaceful protesters:
August 13, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
We are currently seeing human rights research being questioned and attacked around the world.

This is why we’d like to take you behind the scenes of how we come to our conclusions.
May 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
Hungary's government is being accused of handing more than €1,000,000,000 in unlawful subsidies as advertising revenue to pro-Orbán newspapers, television stations and online platforms in 2015-2023, two media outlets claim in a state aid complaint lodged with the European Commission.
April 28, 2025 at 6:46 AM
The Trump admin dismantled key efforts to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in Ukraine—pulling out of an EU-led group, downsizing DOJ’s war crimes team, ending asset seizures, and leaving a legally mandated coordinator post vacant.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Trump administration unwinds efforts to investigate Russian war crimes
The Trump administration has backed away from several initiatives intended to hold Moscow accountable for war crimes in Ukraine, including an intelligence coordinator office.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 23, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
The Hungarian government has amended the country's constitution (again) to suit its narrow political purposes, this time to justify attacks on LGBT people and threaten its critics with the power to suspend Hungarian citizenship for dual nationals. EU action is needed.
www.hrw.org/news/2025/04...
Hungary: Fundamental Law Changes Attack Rule of Law, Rights
The amendments to Hungary’s Fundamental Law represent yet another escalation in the Orbán government’s ongoing efforts to dismantle rights, undermine the rule of law, and diminish democracy in Hungary...
www.hrw.org
April 22, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Israeli PR guru Srulik Einhorn worked to burnish the image of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and facilitate the flow of Serbian arms to Israel. Now wanted for questioning in Israel, he has set up shop in Belgrade.

balkaninsight.com/2025/04/16/b...
Billboards and Bullets: An Israeli Spin Doctor at the Service of Serbia
Israeli PR guru Srulik Einhorn worked to burnish the image of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and – BIRN/Haaretz can reveal – facilitate the flow of Serbian arms to Israel’s war in Gaza. Now wanted...
balkaninsight.com
April 16, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
It sometimes seems telling lies is easier than ever — partly true. But: Exposing lies is also possible in previously unthinkable ways. A remarkable BBC Verify report on the paramedic killings and cover-ups that followed
Gaza medics killing: Israeli army fired as close as 12m, audio suggests
The analysis shows Israeli troops fired 100 shots during the attack which killed 15 people.
www.bbc.com
April 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
Some thoughts on the student protests in Serbia ⬇️
📖 Serbia has seen many protests in the past decade, but the current pro-democracy movement stands apart for its unprecedented level of solidarity.

Serbia may be past the point of no return.

Emma Quaedvlieg explores how a new generation is pushing back against authoritarianism👇
Serbia: Past the Point of No Return? - European Democracy Hub
After four months of protests, Serbia is now left without a government and awaiting a reshuffle or yet another snap election.
europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu
April 10, 2025 at 12:30 PM
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has inflicted widespread sexual violence on women and girls throughout Sudan’s war. The RSF’s atrocities, including rape, gang-rape and sexual slavery, amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, @amnesty.org new report.

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Sudan: Rapid Support Forces’ horrific and widespread use of sexual violence leaves lives in tatters
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has inflicted widespread sexual violence on women and girls throughout Sudan’s two-year civil war to humiliate, assert control and displace communities across the countr...
www.amnesty.org
April 10, 2025 at 9:23 AM
This is an excellent thread of even better investigation into the human rights record of Frontex leadership 👇
In this investigation for Balkan Insight, we review the human rights record of @frontex.bsky.social's director Hans Leijtens-two years after he vowed to end the agency's complicity in violent pushbacks. Amidst lawlessness at Europe's borders, is he fighting a losing battle?
tinyurl.com/bddvh7f5

🧵👇
Poisoned Chalice: Is Frontex Director’s Clean-Up Operation Doomed to Failure?
Dutch former gendarmerie commander Hans Leijtens took the reins of Frontex with a vow to renew the EU border agency’s commitment to the rights of migrants. With Europe’s leaders taking a hard line on ...
balkaninsight.com
April 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
New compelling database by SHARE Lab with more than 3000 testimonies and other visual evidence documenting the effects of the use of sound cannon during Belgrade protests last month.

zvuk.labs.rs
April 9, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
Video obtained by my colleague Farnaz Fassihi shows how the IDF deliberately attacked, over several minutes, a convoy of ambulances and other emergency vehicles in #Gaza. #Israel wrongly claimed that the vehicles drove without emergency signals and headlights. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/w...
Video Shows Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Under Gunfire Barrage, With Ambulance Lights On (Gift Article)
The U.N. has said Israel killed the workers. The video appears to contradict Israel’s version of the incident, which described the vehicles as “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency ...
www.nytimes.com
April 5, 2025 at 12:50 AM
“Israel is preparing to forcibly displace the entire population of Gaza into an enclosed and possibly fenced-off area. Anyone caught outside its boundaries would be killed, and buildings throughout the rest of the enclave would likely be razed to the ground.“

www.972mag.com/israel-gaza-...
Israel’s latest vision for Gaza has a name: Concentration camp
Unable to immediately expel Gazans en masse, Israel seems intent on forcing them into a confined zone — and letting starvation and desperation do the rest.
www.972mag.com
April 1, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Anyone who thinks Israeli forces have been upholding the principle of distinction—differentiating between civilians, medics, journalists, humanitarian workers, and combatants in Gaza—should read this story.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Israel killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers one by one, says UN
Workers on a mission to help colleagues were buried in mass grave in southern Gaza, says humanitarian office
www.theguardian.com
March 31, 2025 at 8:50 PM
They „would like to see “millions of AI pilots”, so the US and its allies are ready for the future of war.“
March 30, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Sometimes I think Serbia can’t surprise me, but here we go.

Apparently Russian FSB is in Belgrade this week to determine if sonic weapon was used against peaceful protesters on March 15.

beta.rs/content/2222...
Vučić: Stigli stručnjaci ruske službe da utvrde da li je bilo zvučnog topa
predsednik države aleksandar vučić izjavio je da su sinoć došli stručnjaci iz federalne službe bezbednosti rusije i od jutros rade, ostaće nekoliko
beta.rs
March 29, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
Inside Russia's shadow war in the Baltic Sea - a series of suspected sabotage incidents has exposed the vulnerability of Europe’s undersea infrastructure
ig.ft.com/baltic-sea/
Inside Russia’s shadow war in the Baltics
A series of suspected sabotage incidents has exposed the vulnerability of Europe’s undersea infrastructure
ig.ft.com
March 10, 2025 at 9:22 AM
New day, new spyware in Serbia. @amnesty.org uncovers a new case of misuse of a Cellebrite product to break into the phone of a youth activist in Serbia. And more evidence that the government continues their campaign of surveillance of civil society.

securitylab.amnesty.org/latest/2025/...
Cellebrite zero-day exploit used to target phone of Serbian student activist - Amnesty International Security Lab
Amnesty International’s Security Lab uncovers sophisticated Cellebrite zero-day exploit, impacting billions of Android devices.
securitylab.amnesty.org
February 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
Passionate about business and human rights? Join Amnesty International and collaborate with partners and communities at the forefront of the energy transition, addressing its impact on human rights.

#EnergyTransition #JustEnergyTransition #DRC #DRCongo
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/41...
Amnesty International hiring DRC - Business and Human Rights Consultant in Nairobi County, Kenya | LinkedIn
Posted 10:42:10 AM. Purpose and Background Amnesty International's Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (ESARO)…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
February 27, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Marija Ristic
Guess who loves a good old “smart city” with cameras and face recognition at every corner?

Inside the Taliban's surveillance network monitoring millions

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Inside the Taliban's surveillance network monitoring millions
The Taliban say 90,000 CCTV cameras in Kabul will reduce crime but there are fears for human rights.
www.bbc.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:29 AM
My latest @amnesty.org research documents a rise in Israeli settler violence targeting Palestinian shepherds in grazing areas surrounding Shi’b Al-Butum. They face an imminent threat of forced displacement.
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Israel/OPT: Masafer Yatta community in occupied West Bank under imminent threat of forcible transfer
The Palestinian community of Shi’b Al-Butum in Masafer Yatta is at imminent risk of forcible transfer due to increasing state-backed settler attacks, as well as home demolitions, restrictions on acces...
www.amnesty.org
February 27, 2025 at 10:44 AM
NEW: Cellebrite halts product use in Serbia, reinforcing @amnesty.org findings that Serbian police and intelligence routinely misused Cellebrite’s digital forensic equipment outside legally sanctioned processes to target civil society and independent media.

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Serbia: Cellebrite halts product use in Serbia following Amnesty surveillance report
Cellebrite has stopped the use of its digital forensic equipment in Serbia following Amnesty International's surveillance report.
www.amnesty.org
February 26, 2025 at 1:53 PM
German elections saw the highest turnout since reunification in 1990s - 84% of voters cast a ballot.

And half of them voted for conservative and far-right parties. Scary times ahead.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
German election live: Conservatives projected to win and far-right AfD in second
Friedrich Merz claims victory for CDU/CSU alliance as incumbent chancellor Scholz concedes defeat; Alternative für Deutschland almost doubles vote share to 20%
www.theguardian.com
February 23, 2025 at 7:02 PM
The Netherlands is set to return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria - the largest repatriation of the looted antiquities to date.

UK still holds around 900 artefacts - stolen during the British attack on Benin City in 1897.

www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Netherlands to return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
The Netherlands has agreed to return more than 100 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, the latest European country to return cultural artefacts to Africa, the Dutch embassy in Abuja said on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com
February 19, 2025 at 11:31 PM