Nine serving Serbian police officers and a former officer have been arrested over allegations that they used excessive force against students during protests in Belgrade last year.
The Serbian Ministry of Interior said the suspects allegedly abused and tortured several injured people in the garage of a government compound in August 2025. It said all 10 officers had been on duty at the time.
According to the ministry, the group “used force and threats to inflict severe pain and suffering on several injured people, in order to obtain information, intimidate and unlawfully punish them”.
The ministry released only the suspects’ initials and said they had served in an elite unit. Serbia’s state broadcaster reported that Igor Zmiric, commander of the Special Antiterrorist Unit, was among those detained.
The arrests relate to protests led by students, which later contributed to the electoral defeat of former president Aleksandar Vucic. The demonstrations began after 16 people were killed when a canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad collapsed in November 2024.
The collapse was widely viewed by protesters as evidence of alleged corruption under Mr Vucic, who served as president for 12 years before conceding defeat last month following parliamentary elections.
Since the vote, the student-led movement has called for reforms to state institutions, including the police and intelligence services. Demonstrators have also demanded the resignation of senior officials they accuse of colluding with Mr Vucic while he was in power.
Amnesty International said in a 2025 report that protesters, journalists and civil society organisations in Serbia continued to face intimidation, harassment and unlawful surveillance. It said protesters had experienced excessive force in multiple cases across the country.
Serbia’s prospects of joining the European Union have increased since the October elections, with the bloc offering further accession talks if the country’s new government strengthens democracy.
