Police Identify 12 Individuals Who Rioted During Protest Rally in Novi Sad

BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC

Assistant Police Director Col. Dragan Vasiljevic said on Nov. 6 that 12 individuals who had rioted at the Nov. 5 protest rally in Novi Sad had been identified during the night, adding that eight had been remanded in custody and that they had committed a large number of criminal offenses.

Vasiljevic told public broadcaster RTS that former Indjija Mayor Goran Jesic had been arrested for assaulting police officers and that criminal charges would be pressed against him. He also said that a former Constitutional Court judge, Svetozar Ciplic, had been identified as a person who had carried a hammer inside their jacket, and that the police would look into his intentions.

According to Vasiljevic, during the rally police used minimum means of force - pepper spray and tear gas, and showed maximum restraint. He further said that 10 police officers and two citizens had been slightly injured.

"The police showed restraint. We guarded buildings and did not allow entry into them. The demonstrators who were throwing [rocks and other things] at [City] Hall clearly saw that there were policemen standing behind [the doors]. That aggression and that violence was such that they tried to enter City Hall by force in several waves, the aim was forceful entry into the building," he said, adding that the windows and doors had been broken and the facade ruined.