With Ruling Party Ties, Serbian Right-Wing ‘Security’ Groups Flourish

Some of the Orthodox Templars are taking oath. Dusan Ivkovic and Stevan Djokic (first two on the left side), Nemanja Ristic (last on the right side). Photo: Facebook

Djokic and the organisations he led had good relations with a number of notorious Serbian extremist groups, including anti-migrant vigilantes Leviathan and People's Patrols as well as Serbian Right, a fixture of the far-right scene. It also counts among its members a husband of the mayor of Nis and a member of the main board of Vucic's Progressive Party, and close ties to another, Vladimir Djukanovic, a member of the party's presidency and main board, an MP and head of the parliamentary justice committee.

Besides DBA, BIRN has identified at least five other right-wing organisations that claim expertise in the security sector to promote the Serbian police, military and right-wing tropes, while enjoying the sympathies of Serbia's ruling party.

With names that ring of reputable security bodies [International Police Organisation, World Police Counter-Terrorism Organisation, European Police Organisation, Global Police Association], analysts say they represent a simulation of civil society, controlled by the government, and a means of recruiting young right-wing Serbs lured by the badges, the oaths of honour and the camaraderie.

"They are definitely dangerous," said Predrag Petrovic, programme director at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, an independent think-tank, describing them as part of a "parallel NGO world and para-police world."

"It is clear that they are all linked and created from one centre," Petrovic told BIRN. "They are drawing [people] in through their activities, especially young men. That way they can control people who can be problematic for...