Protest in Belgrade Leaves 17 Demonstrators and 43 Police Officers Hurt

Interior Ministry: Serbian Gov't Appoints Vladimir Rebic New Police Director

Police Director Vladimir Rebic said on July 8 that during a protest that began in downtown Belgrade in the evening on July 7 and lasted throughout the night 17 demonstrators and 43 police officers were hurt, while over 20 protesters were arrested.

Strong riot police forces dispersed the demonstrators in the morning on July 8, ending the long, violent protest that began after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on July 7 announced a possible introduction of a weekend lockdown in response to a growing number of people infected with the Covid-19 virus.

Rebic marked Damjan Knezevic and MP Srdjan Nogo as being behind the attempt to enter the Parliament building by force, adding that he expects the organizers of the protest to be identified during the day. Rebic told the RTS public service that Knezevic was arrested with another four protesters in the evening on July 7, when he broke into the Parliament building, while in the case of Nogo a decision of the prosecutor’s office is expected.

Special riot police units, mounted police, armored police vehicles and dogs, as well as a number of plainclothes police were used during the intervention.

Rebic also said that about 5,000 people took part in the demonstrations, not all of them being militant and violent, but that a small group of 100 to 200 protesters pushed their way through the police cordon while attempting to break into the Parliament building.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic condemned the attempt to enter the Parliament building by force and said that “the state and all its institutions will protect the legal order in the way it is done in every democratic country,” the RTS reported.