Activist opposed to Rio Tinto lithium mine receives anonymous death threats

The Serbian activist Aleksandar Matković has argued for more investment in public transport and infrastructure rather than the increased use of lithium for electric vehicle batteries. Photograph: Ruzica Milovanovic Photography

When Aleksandar Matković received the first message threatening his life, he thought it was a prank. The text, sent to his Telegram account just after midnight on 14 August read: “We will follow you until you disappear, scum.”

Matković is one of the campaigners who have been at the forefront of widespread protests against plans to develop a massive lithium mine in Serbia. He said: “At first I thought someone was joking but during the morning I got another message, saying ‘how is the struggle against Rio Tinto going?’ from another profile I didn’t know, and the app displayed the sender’s distance as just 500 [metres] away.”