Thousands of student-led protesters rallied in downtown Belgrade on Monday, accusing police of brutality and demanding punishment for officers they say used excessive force during months of anti-government demonstrations.
The protesters gathered outside the headquarters of a special police unit and chanted against President Aleksandar Vucic, calling for accountability for what they described as systemic abuse. They demanded that officers alleged to have carried out beatings and issued rape threats to detained students be investigated and prosecuted.
One of the speakers, university student Nikolina Sindjelic, said she was detained during last month’s protests and suffered physical and sexual harassment while in custody. Speaking to the crowd, she accused state institutions of turning against citizens and said the government had resorted to violence because it feared the protesters’ momentum. "They beat us because they are afraid of us," Sindjelic said. She also accused the commander of the special unit of making rape threats, an allegation the students repeated at the rally.
The demonstrations, led primarily by university students, began in November after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in northern Serbia, killing 16 people. The disaster touched off an anti-corruption movement that accuses graft and negligence of contributing to the deaths and has since broadened into sustained protests demanding political change.
Clashes have occurred across the country in recent weeks. On Friday, police in the northern city of Novi Sad used tear gas to disperse thousands who had gathered at a university campus. Dozens were injured as riot police in shields and carrying batons moved in; students and witnesses said many people were pushed and fell in panic as police sought to clear the area. Police said they acted after "massive attacks" by masked protesters who threw flares and other objects.
The government has sharply pushed back against the movement. Vucic has rejected students’ calls for a snap parliamentary election and labeled some protesters "terrorists," alleging foreign influence without presenting evidence. Authorities have dismissed scores of professors and teachers, and police have been deployed inside some faculty buildings, measures opponents say are aimed at stifling dissent.
Tensions have also surfaced within the security services. Over the weekend an officer who commanded an elite police unit said he had been forced into retirement, a development the protesters described as part of a purge of officials not fully loyal to Vucic.
Serbia formally seeks membership in the European Union but its government has maintained close ties with Russia and China. International observers and rights groups have raised concerns in recent years about diminishing democratic freedoms in Serbia, including pressures on media and civic institutions. The student movement has framed its campaign as a broader fight against corruption and the erosion of democratic norms.
Protesters on Monday returned to the streets with renewed calls for legal accountability and an end to what they say is a pattern of intimidation. Authorities have not released details of any disciplinary or criminal investigations into the specific allegations raised by the students, and spokespeople for the police and the presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.