Reports of brutal police violence in Serbia

Civil Rights Defenders and Amnesty International urge Serbia to investigate reports of a widespread violent crackdown on largely peaceful student protesters in Belgrade and other major towns across Serbia since 28 June, when students called for an early parliamentary election.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Belgrade last Saturday demanding early parliamentary elections. The protest was the most recent in nearly eight months of persistent demonstrations across Serbia, triggered by the collapse of a railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people and sparked allegations about negligence and corruption in government infrastructure projects. 

Beatings leaving several students hospitalised

This week saw an increasing crackdown against largely peaceful student protesters, who called for early parliamentary elections and set up hundreds of road blockades in multiple towns across the country.

Civil Rights Defenders and Amnesty International received reports about several hundred students, including secondary school students, and other protesters arrested on various criminal and administrative charges since Sunday. While many have been released, there were reports about police using excessive force, including beatings that left several students hospitalised for injuries.

Alarming footage of riot police targeting protesters

Serbian authorities must exercise restraint and ensure people can participate safely in demonstrations and express their dissent free from intimidation, harassment or violence. Failure to do so risks escalating tensions further. Instances of police use of unlawful force must be promptly and independently investigated and any officers suspected to have acted unlawfully must be brought to justice.

EU leaders should unequivocally denounce any human rights violations against protesters and stress that guaranteeing the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression remains front and centre in Serbia’s EU accession process.

Unlawful and excessive use of force

Footage of Serbian riot police indiscriminately targeting peaceful protesters gathered at blockades on the street and in front of universities in Belgrade is alarming. There have been widespread arrests and allegations of excessive or otherwise unlawful use of force against student protesters – during the protests, the arrests and in police custody. Authorities must urgently investigate and explain reports of masked individuals in civilian clothes targeting protesters.

While the state is responsible for ensuring public order and responding to individual violent incidents, any use of force must be a last resort, and be strictly necessary and proportionate to achieving a legitimate aim. A heavy-handed response to peaceful dissent cannot be justified.