People across Serbia have lost their jobs after supporting student-led protests against the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, or for refusing to attend government-backed counter-rallies.

Responding to an online BIRN call for people to share their experiences, more than 120 people responded with accounts of reprisals taken against them by the state or their employers for their support for the students, from teachers to professors, health workers to IT experts, engineers, journalists, soldiers and artists.

Some worked in the public administration, some for companies fully or partially owned by the state, and others in the private sector; all said they were either dismissed or suffered harassment because they supported the student demands or refused to take part in counter-protests organised by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS.

“Even those who were neutral were not allowed to remain neutral anymore,” said a public sector employee who spoke on condition of anonymity, one of more than 40 individuals interviewed by BIRN across Serbia. “They were punished as well.”