Spyware claims surround Serbia vote as Vučić admits defeat

After Serbia’s October 25 vote, researchers say Pegasus and Cellebrite tools targeted critics; investigations continue and the ministry has not commented.

The Record reports Aleksandar Vučić admitted defeat in Serbia’s prime minister race amid documented digital repression. Amnesty International says authorities used Cellebrite to extract opponents’ phone data and sometimes install spyware, including weeks after Cellebrite said in February 2025 it had cut government ties. Citizen Lab says with high confidence that University of Belgrade rector Vladan Đokić was hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus in 2026. Prosecutor Rade Bajić, who investigated a failed Belgrade tower project linked to the Trumps, received an Apple threat notification rather than a confirmed infection. Amnesty says two investigative journalists were targeted with Pegasus in March 2025. SHARE describes at least 15 mercenary-spyware targets this year, while Citizen Lab reports at least 15 Pegasus cases before the vote; the foreign ministry did not immediately comment.