Thousands rally in Serbia and accuse police of brutality at
anti-government demonstrations
[September 09, 2025]
By JOVANA GEC
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of student-led protesters chanted
slogans against Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic at a rally in
downtown Belgrade on Monday, accusing police of brutality during recent
anti-government demonstrations that have shaken his populist rule.
The protesters demanded that police officers responsible for excessive
use of force during months of unrest be punished, including for alleged
rape threats against a female student.
The protests started in November when a concrete canopy collapsed at a
train station in Serbia’s north, killing 16 people. The disaster ignited
an anti-corruption movement led by university students alleging
graft-fueled negligence as its cause.
Student Nikolina Sindjelic, who was detained last month during the
protests, said she was beaten and sexually harassed during her
detention. Sindjelic told the rally that the “entire state system has
been directed against its own citizens.”
“They (government) beat us because they are afraid of us,” Sindjelic
said in a speech outside the headquarters of a special police unit,
whose commander she accused of rape threats. “They have hit us and they
will hit us because they know it is all over (for them).”
The crowd roared in approval at Sindjelic’s speech, chanting “He is
Finished,” in a reference to Serbia's pro-Russian president.
The increasingly authoritarian Vucic has rejected students' demand for a
snap parliamentary election. He has stepped up a crackdown, sacking
scores of professors and teachers and deploying police inside some
faculty buildings.
The European Union’s response to repeated crackdowns by Serbian police
against demonstrators has been mild.
“We have a problem in Belgrade,” European Commissioner for Enlargement
Marta Kos said on Monday.
“The people have the right to protest,” Kos said during a visit to
Austria. “The severe violence on the streets of Serbia, the many acts of
vandalism must stop. We expect the police to act appropriately and
respect fundamental rights.”
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Led by university students, people attend a protest against
increasing police brutality in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Sept. 8,
2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
On Friday evening, police used tear gas to disperse thousands of
protesters in the northern city of Novi Sad who gathered at the
university campus. Dozens of people were injured as baton-wielding,
shielded riot police charged at the protesters to push them away
from the campus, sending many fleeing in panic and falling.
Police said they responded to “massive attacks” from masked
protesters who threw flares and various objects at them. University
students behind the protest said police launched “brutal attacks on
their own citizens.”
An elite police unit commander said over the weekend that he had
been forced to retire as part of alleged purges within the force of
any senior officers who were not completely loyal to and controlled
by Vucic.
Vucic has accused the students of “terrorism” and working under
Western orders against Serbia. He has offered no evidence for his
claims.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but Vucic has
maintained close ties with Russia and China while facing accusations
of stifling democratic freedoms, including free media.
——
AP's Philipp-Moritz Jenne and Dusan Stojanovic contributed.
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