Serbia detains police officers over alleged use of force against protesters

Serbian authorities detained nine active police officers and one former officer on Wednesday for allegedly using excessive force against detainees during anti-corruption protests last year in Belgrade, the country’s interior ministry said.

Anti-corruption protests swept across Serbia, a candidate for EU membership, in 2025 and 2026 after 16 people died when a concrete canopy on a renovated railway station in the city of Novi Sad collapsed on Nov 1, 2024.

The protests ultimately resulted in the ouster of the populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which is loyal to ex-President Aleksandar Vucic, in an Oct 25 snap parliamentary election by the leaderless Student List.

The ministry said in a statement that the suspects, who served in an elite unit, tortured and intimidated several persons detained in the garage of the government compound in downtown Belgrade on Aug 14-15, 2025.

“By the use of force and threats, (they) inflicted great pain and severe suffering on a larger number of … persons, intending to obtain information from them and intimidating and unlawfully punishing them,” the statement said.

The ministry provided only the initials of the officers and former officer who were detained. The news marked the first major arrests in connection with violence against the protesters who took to the streets over the past two years.

Police used tear gas, crowd-control vehicles and stun grenades to disperse crowds during the protests.

Dozens of students and activists who took part in the protests accused police of excessive use of force that resulted in injuries and psychological trauma.

Serbian students, activists, opposition politicians and rights watchdogs have accused Vucic and the SNS of political violence, pressure against media, ties to organised crime and rampant corruption. Vucic and his allies deny the accusations.