In Serbia, clashes between protesters and police do not stop. President Vučić calls the demonstrators "terrorists, thugs and murderers", and the police are showing brutal violence. So far, it has remained completely unpunished.
The authorities in Serbia are acting with brutal force against the protesters. Student Nikolina Sindelić is one of his victims, and she is among the most famous faces of the protest against the government in Serbia. She told ARD how, while returning from a protest late at night, police officers from a special unit suddenly jumped out of an ambush, arrested her, dragged her into a garage and pushed her to the ground.
Threats and beatings
Then Marko Kricak, known as a confidant of President Aleksandar Vucic, appeared. When a video camera with a flashing signal indicating a dead battery was found in Sindelic's backpack, Kricak apparently mistakenly thought that the activist was trying to secretly film him and hit her on the head with an open palm, uttering all sorts of threats and intimidation, including that he would rape her in front of everyone. Beatings and other abuse followed. However, the special police unit rejects Sindelic's accusations against Kricak.
According to German public media, there have been more and more reports of police violence recently. Videos on social media show and recount beatings of protesters who have been knocked to the ground.
President Vučić denounces government opponents
According to President Vučić, however, only opponents of the government are showing violence. “Our country is in danger - not only the state, but also all our values, our democracy, our normal life, the decent life of ordinary people. They are endangering all of this“, Vučić said in his address.
Opponents of the government, on the other hand, accuse him of provoking violence himself with attacks on protesters, which are probably organized by the state authorities. Vučić also uses brutal language, calling the protesters “terrorists, thugs and murderers“, of whom “the cities must be cleansed”. It even compares them to the Nazi paramilitary groups of the early 1930s, notes ARD.
No consequences for police violence
Pro-government thugs and brutal police officers have no reason to expect legal punishment, ARD also writes, explaining that so far, attacks by law enforcement agencies against protesters have remained without consequences.
Protests against the government in Serbia have not stopped for nine months. They began in November in Novi Sad, after the canopy of the newly renovated train station collapsed, killing 16 people.
Corruption is to blame
The demonstrators believe that corruption in the country is to blame for this tragedy. For a long time, their protests were peaceful. The latest outbreak of violence began after government opponents were attacked by Vucic supporters in two villages in northern Serbia last Tuesday. The police watched the clashes indifferently, without imposing any order.
Since then, more and more people have come out to protest. Some of them have also resorted to violence. And they are being confronted by police, some of whom also do not stop at brutal violence.