Members of a Serbian elite unit detained over abuse of protesters in a government garage
Ten days after the SNS lost the election, the first major arrests follow over violence during two years of anti-corruption protests.
Serbian authorities on Wednesday detained a group of police officers and a former officer on suspicion of torturing and intimidating people who had been held during anti-corruption protests in Belgrade. Reuters and AP, citing the Interior Ministry, speak of nine serving officers and one former colleague, while Euronews puts the figure at eight officers and one former officer. According to the ministry, the suspects belonged to an elite unit and on 14 and 15 August 2025 allegedly abused several detainees in the garage of the government complex in central Belgrade in order to extract information, frighten them and punish them unlawfully. The ministry released only their initials.
According to public broadcaster RTS, cited by Euronews, Igor Zmiric, commander of the special anti-terrorist unit, is among those detained. Student activist Nikolina Sindjelic, who was held during the August 2025 protests, had previously accused him of kicking her while she lay on the garage floor. Reuters and AP describe these as the first major arrests linked to violence against protesters since the demonstrations began two years ago.
The protests broke out after a concrete canopy at the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad collapsed on 1 November 2024, killing 16 people. Police used tear gas, crowd-control vehicles and stun grenades, and dozens of students and activists complained of excessive force, AP reports. The protest movement led to the defeat of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), loyal to Aleksandar Vučić, in the snap parliamentary election of 25 October, won by the leaderless Student List. Critics accuse Vučić and the SNS of political violence, pressure on the media, links to organised crime and corruption, which they deny, according to Reuters.