Serbia has developed lawless, “extraterritorial oases” where domestic state authorities refuse to enforce accountability, effectively leaving public safety entirely in the hands of foreign corporations and shadowy criminal networks.
This scathing assessment was delivered by Ivana Stevanović, Executive Director of the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, during an interview on N1 Belgrade. Stevanović linked a series of escalating crises across the nation—including a fatal factory accident, international sanctions, and a severe wave of physical assaults on independent journalists—to a broader “absolute war” declared by the ruling regime against critical media.
The Corporate Safe Havens: Linglong and Zijin under US Sanctions
The interview was triggered by a fatal industrial accident at the Chinese-owned Linglong tire factory in Zrenjanin, where a worker was killed by a heavy machine on Friday morning. Activists from Zrenjanin have warned that the facility operates behind a wall of complete secrecy, hiding a history of prior machine malfunctions and safety failures.
Stevanović emphasized that the core crisis lies not in the companies’ lack of transparency, but in the complete retreat of the Serbian state:
- Linglong Under Fire: The factory was previously blacklisted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) due to severe systemic labor exploitation and human rights abuses.
- Zijin Blacklisted: Just days ago, the massive Chinese mining conglomerate Zijin was hit with similar U.S. sanctions for identical violations in eastern Serbia.
- The Government Response: The Serbian government and competent regulatory agencies have met these structural human rights crises with absolute silence.
The Mystery of “Cacilend” at the Parliament
Stevanović drew an explicit parallel between these corporate strongholds and “Cacilend,” an illegal encampment that has commandeered the public plaza directly in front of the National Assembly building in Belgrade.
Serbian Extraterritorial Vulnerability Matrix (June 2026)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ZONES BEYOND DOMESTIC JURISDICTION │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
[ FOREIGN CORPORATE ] [ SHADOW URBAN ZONES ] [ CENSORSHIP FRONT ]
Linglong & Zijin run "Cacilend" outside Over 1,500 state
sovereign enclaves parliament; police attacks on media
insulated from safety openly refuse to enter to secure absolute
and labor laws. or protect citizens. public silence.
The executive director revealed that the Belgrade police explicitly informed journalists and citizens that law enforcement cannot step foot inside “Cacilend” and cannot guarantee public safety within that specific perimeter.
“Very serious information is surfacing regarding the individuals stationed there. Numerous convicted criminals who should be serving prison sentences are walking around ‘Cacilend’ completely unhindered. The prosecution, police, and courts must explain why a public, sovereign territory has been surrendered to these individuals and effectively stolen from the citizens of Serbia.”
“An Absolute War” Against Independent Journalists
The lawlessness of these physical zones directly correlates with a surge in state-sponsored violence against independent watchdogs. On the evening of June 17, 2026, prominent journalist Veran Matić was physically attacked.
Matić, who has spent years under permanent police protection due to death threats related to his work exposing war crimes and political corruption, was targeted just days after a highly public verbal attack by the President of the Republic, who demanded Matić apologize to figures who had previously faced justice.
Journalist Attrition & Impunity Data (2024–2026)
Data released by media monitoring bodies exposes a structural breakdown in judicial protections for press freedom across Serbia.
| Metric | Recorded Data Point |
| Verbal Attacks (Aug 2025 – May 2026) | ~1,500 separate attacks generated by just 60 state officials |
| Daily Average of Attacks | ~5 targeted state attacks per day against media workers |
| ANEM Filed Assault Reports (Past 2 Years) | Over 200 formal complaints of physical and severe verbal violence |
| Successfully Prosecuted Cases | Only 5 cases out of 200+ ended in a judicial conviction |
Stevanović concluded that the regime has crossed a critical threshold by utilizing active police units to interfere with reporting, culminating in near-fatal assassination attempts on journalists trying to document irregularities during recent local elections.
“The government views citizens purely as silent entities meant to fund projects that enrich a selected elite,” Stevanović warned. “Independent media, civil society, and protesting citizens are being targeted because they are the only forces disrupting that plan.”
