The Serbian-Chinese friendship association, FDH, sought a ruling by the Strasbourg court after being prevented from demonstrating in 2016 in support of the spiritual movement Falun Gong, which is banned in China.

The demonstration was banned as a threat to public order, but the court ruling said the motive was speculative and that Serbia had violated Article 11 of the European human rights convention on freedom of expression.

Xi's visit to Serbia in 2016 was the first by a Chinese leader in more than three decades to one of China's closest European allies. Xi visited again in 2024 and Serbia's President Aleksandr Vucic went to Beijing last week.

Falun Gong has been banned in China since 1999 for organising protests against the ruling Communist party.