Serbia Police Arrest Dozens of Anti-Government Protesters

Police clashed with anti-government protesters in Belgrade and Novi Sad, leaving several injured and dozens arrested. The protests, sparked by a deadly railway collapse and corruption, demand early elections. Vucic condemned the demonstrators, while EU and UN officials voiced concern over the crackdown.

Police deployed tear gas against anti-government protesters on Thursday evening in at least two Serbian cities, including the capital, Belgrade, and the northern city of Novi Sad.

In Novi Sad, anti-government demonstrators targeted the headquarters of President Aleksandar Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), smearing red paint on its walls and breaking windows. According to the AP news agency, neither police nor Vucic’s supporters, who have guarded the office for months, were present at the scene.

Later, police clad in full riot gear cordoned off multiple blocks in the center of Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, and used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

In Belgrade, hundreds of protesters clashed with SNS supporters, exchanging flares and firecrackers along one of the city’s main boulevards. Earlier in the evening, anti-government protesters attempted to approach SNS offices but were blocked by a heavy deployment of riot police.

Serbia’s interior ministry, according to AFP news agency, reported that at least five police officers were injured on Thursday evening, and 14 protesters were arrested.

The country has experienced several days of violent confrontations between pro- and anti-government factions. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that protesters had gathered at around 90 locations nationwide on Wednesday evening. Nearly 50 protesters were arrested on Wednesday, and approximately 80 civilians along with 30 riot police were injured, he added.

This marks the latest escalation of the student-led demonstrations against Vucic’s government, which have been ongoing in Serbia since November 2024. The protests were initially sparked by the collapse of a railway station roof in Novi Sad that killed 16 people and was widely attributed to government corruption.

The demonstrators are currently demanding that Vucic call for early elections.

Vucic has been a dominant political figure in Serbia for more than a decade, serving as both prime minister and president. Under his leadership, Serbia has experienced growing authoritarianism, and corruption has become more entrenched. The country ranks 105th out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index.

On Thursday evening, Vucic stated that “there will be more arrests” and accused protesters of inciting violence, labeling them as “enemies of their own country.”

Marta Kos, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, expressed concern on social media regarding the violence in Serbia, a candidate for EU membership. She emphasized that progress toward the EU requires that citizens be able to express their opinions freely and that journalists report without fear of intimidation or attacks.

In August, a group of UN human rights experts highlighted a “troubling pattern of repression” in the government’s handling of the protests. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that peaceful demonstrators have faced intimidation, physical assaults, surveillance, and arrests, often without legal justification.