I want to ride my bicycle
Serbian students are biking all the way to Strasbourg to ask for EU support. In Greece the Predatorgate arrives in court. But also: ice cream treats and lousy policemen.
Hello everyone,
Welcome back! This is Balkan Brew, your weekly newsletter with all the freshest news from the Balkans arriving right on time, as always, every Friday morning.
It’s been a furious week. Not sure about you, but we, for once, wouldn’t mind focusing on something other than tariffs.
In this week’s issue, we’ll take you on a bike ride stretching thousands of kilometers, from Serbia all the way to Strasbourg. We’ll also dig into one of Greece's biggest scandals, ice cream treats, and lousy policemen. Let’s dive in!
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I want to ride my bicycle
Thousands gathered in Vienna on Monday to welcome a group of students from Serbia, who are cycling their way from Novi Sad to Strasbourg.
ENERGY. It was quite a chilly and gloomy evening, but people gathered in Maria-Theresien-Platz didn’t quite feel it: Balkan Brew was there to cover their arrival (Rodolfo wrote about it on Le Courrier des Balkans, and this is a video of their arrival), and we can tell you that the energy and enthusiasm of the gathering warmed pretty much everyone up.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The cyclists are supposed to arrive in Strasbourg on 15 April. Right now, they are on their way to Munich: you can follow their route here.
“IT’S ALL FAKE!!1!”: said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who accused the students of, errr, transporting the bikes using vans. As if that declaration wasn’t bizarre enough, he also claimed that Kosovo leader Albin Kurti is behind some of the students’ demands.
DOCTOR WHO. Vučić also announced he gave the mandate to Đuro Macut, an endocrinologist, to form a new government. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of him—neither have many Serbians.
NEW REQUESTS. Serbian students are still protesting and now want answers about the tech used on them on 15 March, and why Vučić was allowed to visit the injured victims of the Pulse club fire in North Macedonia (currently in ICU) with cameras in tow.
Quite a bizarre visit, if you ask us
A DIPLOMATIC CASE. Croatia is protesting the expulsion from Serbia of a total of 15 Croatian citizens in the last three months, accused by Belgrade of being “““security threats”””. Among the expelled is Arien Stojanović Ivković, who has lived in Belgrade for 12 years, where she’s married and raising a young child.
THE PIANO HAS BEEN PROTESTING ... On 8 April, Serbian authorities also expelled Italian pianist Davide Martello, who had performed in support of student protesters in Niš. He has been banned from entering Serbia for one year.
… NOT ME. Martello had also been previously detained in Turkey, where he planned to perform for protesters in Istanbul. Authorities detained him and confiscated his piano before he could play a single note, Turkey Recap reports.
They are listening
The trial for one of the biggest scandals in Greece’s recent history opened on Thursday, April 10, in Athens: Predatorgate. It’s all about wiretapping and digital surveillance—and it’s highly controversial.
MEET THE ACCUSED. Tal Dilian: former commander of Israel’s military cybersecurity, founder of the Intellexa Consortium, accused of selling the Predator spyware in Greece. Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou: Dilian’s wife, worked with Intellexa. Felix Bitzios: identified as the beneficial owner (aka the real but hidden owner) of Intellexa. Giannis Lavranos: the man who purchased Predator.
SPYING… The four are accused of using Predator, a spyware developed by Intellexa, to violate the phone and privacy of Thanasis Koukakis, a Greek journalist, and Artemis Seaford, a Greek-American who worked for Meta. They allegedly targeted another 116 victims.
…IN SILENCE. Predator is spyware—a tool designed to secretly monitor and extract data from smartphones. It can hack phones, record calls, read messages, access photos, track locations, and even activate the microphone and camera, all without the user knowing.
BIGGER THAN THAT? Predatorgate broke in 2022, when Greece’s National Intelligence Service was accused of using Predator to monitor individuals without their consent. The scandal implicated high-ranking officials, including members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s administration—and his nephew.
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH ESPIONAGE. But, in a shocking ruling, the Greek Supreme Court decided in July 2024 that state agencies were not involved in the use of the illegal Predator spyware. The verdict effectively clears government institutions of responsibility in the surveillance scandal.
IN OTHER NEWS.
Has he been arrested? Nope. There’s been (as usual) a lot of talking, but the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entity Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is still free.
Republika Srpska has declared Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate at the German Federal Foreign Office, a persona non grata and expelled her from Banja Luka after she met with politicians from the RS opposition.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office and the Croatian Office for the Prevention of Corruption and Organized Crime have launched an investigation into the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs over suspicions of illegal use of EU and state funds.
The EU Foreign Affairs High Representative, Kaja Kallas, just finished her first trip to the Balkans. She visited Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
If you happen to drive through Slovenia, a heads up – the police will conduct mass speed checks until Sunday. But they were kind enough to publish a list of all the locations and times of the controls.
WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM. Vienna has often been called “the heart of the Balkans”, thanks to its history and the large number of residents with roots in the region. With local elections coming up on 27 April, the local Green Party is trying very hard to win over Bosnian voters—as this video clearly shows.
AND FINALLY. Ever failed badly at your job? It happens! Be kind to yourself—you probably didn’t do as poorly as the Serbian policemen who let a man they just arrested... simply walk away.
This is it for this week. Thanks for sticking with us! For any suggestion or comment, please get in touch—you just have to answer this email. Or connect with us: Rodolfo and Tommaso.
Now go get some ice cream and enjoy the weekend, see you next week,
BB