Tear gas fired at thousands of protesters in Serbia demanding free
elections and justice
[September 06, 2025]
By IVANA BZGANOVIC
NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Baton-wielding riot police in a northern Serbia
town on Friday fired tear gas and charged at thousands of peaceful
protesters who were demanding free elections and justice after months of
demonstrations against the autocratic rule of President Aleksandar Vucic.
The protest led by university students came more than 10 months after a
concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the town of Novi Sad,
killing 16 people. The disaster ignited a wave of public outrage over
alleged state corruption and negligence, which demonstrators cite as
causes of the collapse.
There were no immediate reports of injuries in Friday's chaos triggered
by the police action. Ambulances could be seen driving through Novi
Sad's streets. Police ordered that some of the protesters, including
journalists, lay flat down on the street in handcuffs as police demanded
they identify themselves.
“Police were just doing their job and they did it strictly
professionally,” Vucic said. He described the protesters as “cowards and
scum,” while also lashing out at a group of European politicians present
at the rally.
Vucic, who has said he wants to take Serbia to the European Union, has
branded the protesters as terrorists who want to unseat him with the
help of the West. He attended a gathering earlier this week in China
that included Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of China
and North Korea, along with the Belarus and Iranian presidents.
University students have been a key force behind nationwide protests to
demand a free media, early elections and criminal prosecutions against
those responsible for the canopy collapse.
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Anti-government protesters clash with riot police during a protest
against increasing police brutality in the northern Serbian city of
Novi Sad, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Dozens of university professors, deans and high school teachers have
been sacked in the past months as authorities crack down on
supporters of the students. They have been replaced by Vucic’s
loyalists.
The protest on Friday centered around a university building that was
taken over by Vucic's loyalists and police over a week ago.
Protesters in Novi Sad on Friday chanted “We want elections,” and
“Vucic leave” as they vowed to defend the autonomy of the
university.
Shielded riot officers initially guarded some of the university
buildings but reinforcements later arrived in anti-riot vehicles
before marching toward the protesters. The city streets were
engulfed in tear gas and smoke from stun grenades and flares as
police chased the protesters away from the campus.
The blitz police intervention reflects the increasingly tough
response from Vucic to the protests. Vucic has refused to schedule a
snap parliamentary vote requested by the demonstrators.
Vucic has offered no evidence for the claims that the protests have
been incited from abroad. Scores of students and other people have
been jailed and beaten during the protests, drawing international
criticism of Vucic’s government.
____
AP writers Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this
report from Belgrade, Serbia
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