Serbia detains police officers over alleged use of force against protesters
Authorities say the suspects used force and threats to inflict severe pain on detainees during anti-corruption protests, with first major arrests now made.
- On Wednesday, Serbian authorities detained nine active police officers and one former officer for allegedly using excessive force against detainees during anti-corruption protests in Belgrade last year.
- Nationwide anti-corruption protests swept Serbia in 2025 and 2026, sparked by public outrage after a concrete canopy collapsed at a renovated railway station in Novi Sad, killing 16 people on November 1, 2024.
- The Interior Ministry stated that suspects from an elite unit "inflicted great pain and severe suffering" on detainees held in a government compound garage during the August 14-15, 2025 protests, intending to obtain information.
- Demonstrations channeled public anger into political change, resulting in the ouster of the populist Serbian Progressive Party loyal to ex-President Aleksandar Vucic in the October 25 snap parliamentary election won by the Student List.
- Vucic and his allies deny accusations of political violence, media pressure, and corruption leveled by Student List members and activists, despite the new government's accountability push.
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63 Articles
Police officers are accused of using excessive force and violence against protest students during last year's anti-government protests.
Algemeen Dagblad
VolkskrantIn Serbia, eight police officers and a former police officer were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of using excessive force and torture. This was announced by the Ministry of the Interior.
In Serbia, eight police officers and a former police officer were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of acts of violence and torture. That has the...
A total of nine police officers were arrested for their abuses against university students.
The events date back to August 2025, in the garage of a Serbian government building in Belgrade. Among them would be the commander of the special Serbian anti-terrorist unit, Igor Zmiric, according to public television RTS Read
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