Ten Serbian Police Detained Over Protest Abuse
Authorities moved against elite unit members accused of torturing protesters held in a Belgrade garage last August.
By Petra Murphy ·
Serbia’s interior ministry confirmed on Wednesday that ten law enforcement officers face detention for alleged torture during anti-corruption protests.
The suspects include nine active police officers and one former officer. All ten served in an elite unit.
The ministry stated the officers are accused of inflicting severe pain and suffering on detainees. The alleged abuse occurred in the garage of the government compound in downtown Belgrade.
Officials said the officers used force and threats to obtain information and punish protesters. The detentions mark the first major arrests linked to police violence against demonstrators in the past two years.
The protests began after a concrete canopy collapsed at a renovated railway station in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024. That accident killed sixteen people.
The unrest continued through 2025 and 2026, leading to the defeat of the Serbian Progressive Party in a snap parliamentary election on October 25.
Student and activist groups accused police of using teargas, crowd-control vehicles, and stun grenades to disperse crowds. Many participants reported injuries and psychological trauma from the police response.
Opposition figures and rights watchdogs have long accused former president Aleksandar Vučić and his party of political violence and corruption. Vučić and his allies deny these claims.
The ministry released only the initials of the ten detained officers in its statement.
