Riot police detain a man after charging protesters at the end of an anti-government rally pressing for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A man walks with two goats as riot police detain a man after charging protesters at the end of an anti-government rally pressing for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian police detain 79 protesters as dissent persists against populist president
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police said they detained 79 university students and other protesters as they broke up street blockades in several cities that are part of persistent dissent against President Aleksandar Vucic’s populist government.
Riot police detain a man after charging protesters at the end of an anti-government rally pressing for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police said they detained 79 university students and other protesters as they broke up street blockades in several cities that are part of persistent dissent against President Aleksandar Vucic’s populist government.
Officers in riot gear intervened late Wednesday and early Thursday in the capital, Belgrade, the northern city of Novi Sad and the southern cities of Nis and Novi Pazar. Authorities denied reports of police brutality and excessive force against demonstrators.
University students behind the protests said police charged and injured many peaceful demonstrators. Witnesses told local media that riot police beat up protesters with batons and shields and that four students were hospitalized, including one with a broken clavicle.
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Four officers were injured and a police vehicle was damaged, the Interior Ministry said in a statement, noting officers “acted in accordance with the law” while responding to the unrest Wednesday and early Thursday.
Tensions in the Balkan country have soared since a rally Saturday demanding early parliamentary elections. The gathering by tens of thousands of people in Belgrade ended with .
Vucic has refused to schedule a snap vote despite more than eight months of persistent demonstrations. The after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people and triggering allegations of in state infrastructure projects.
Parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2027. While rejecting the election demand, Vucic has stepped up government pressure that he describes as “terror†and attempts to bring down the state.
Critics say since coming to power over a decade ago, stifling democratic freedoms while allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish, which he has denied.
Serbia is formally seeking entry to the , but Vucic’s government has nourished relations with .
