Many governments in Middle and South Europe, and especially in the Western Balkans, have used the state of emergency and the coronavirus pandemic to strengthen the executive power and massively curb the freedoms, but Serbia's authorities went farthest in restricting the rule of law, the German Der Spiegel daily writes on Tuesday.

The daily adds that the opposition politicians, human rights activists and independent media “almost unanimously speak about the violations of the Constitution and coup d'etat in the country.”

Besides, Der Spiegel recalls that President Aleksandar Vucic has laughed about the virus at the end of February, only to make a turn and introduce the state of emergency without the Parliament approval.

That, the daily says, has “severely limited fundamental rights and public life, “although Serbia is now relatively little affected by the coronavirus crisis”.

Der Spiegel writes that “only the Parliament in Serbia is authorised to declare the state of emergency, but that there is a Constitutional loophole that allows President to do that if the legislators are prevented, what Vucic has used citing the ban on gathering due to the pandemic.

“That's not the first time that the President goes around the Constitution. For example, Vucic is also the head of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), despite the Constitutional ban to serve in both capacities, the daily says, adding that “Serbia's leadership doesn't show scruples in undermining the Constitution anyway.”

Listing the most drastic limits and bans in Serbia, the number of people punished for the violations, the Government's withdrawal of a decree on centralising information after a massive outcry following the arrest of a journalist, Der Spiegel quotes the head of Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia Sonja Biserko as saying “it's sad that the European Union doesn't want to see what is going on in Serbia right now.”

“They hope Vucic will contribute to the solving of Kosovo conflict and that's why they give him freehand at home,” Biserko told the daily.

Der Spiegel recalled that Vucic was the Information Minister in the 1990s, an ultranationalist, a warmonger, who now presented himself daily as the saviour of Serbia.

“The strengthening of the jurisdiction is unnecessary since he has been ruling without limits for years now.”