BELGRADE -- Police in Serbia have detained dozens of people following anti-government protests, authorities announced on June 29, and President Aleksandar Vucic said law-enforcement agencies were set to make “many more arrests.”
Prosecutors said the detainees were being held for up to 48 hours for committing violence and attacking police in the capital, Belgrade, during the mass, student-led protests, which began the previous day and were attended by an estimated 140,000 people.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police detained 77 people, with at least 38 still in custody.
The protests continued into the night of June 29, as thousands of people gathered to demonstrate against the arrests of rally-goers the previous night.
"They need to release the detainees. It is ugly how the government treats young people. We want to live in a free country, as the students demand," Gordana Ataljanc told RFE/RL.
"We are appealing to the institutions to start doing their job. To arrest those really responsible for the violence. Last night they beat people, they caught whoever they arrived," Milan Antonijevic told RFE/RL.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Belgrade’s central Slavija Square on June 28, demanding new elections and an end to Vucic’s long rule, as a smaller crowd of counterdemonstrators also took to the streets.
Riot police used pepper spray and tear gas against the anti-government protesters, and detained and handcuffed dozens of people, according to journalists at the scene. Police said dozens of officers had been injured in ensuing clashes between police and protesters.
“There will, of course, be many more arrests for attacks on the police,” Vucic said on June 29.
“This is not the end. Others are being identified. The Security Information Agency is also working on this,” the president told reporters at a joint press conference with Dacic.
Dacic said that 48 police officers have been injured in the clashes, adding that one police officer sustained serious head injuries.
An independent monitor estimated the student-led anti-government crowd at 140,000 participants, many of whom were chanting “We want elections!” in and around Slavija Square. Police earlier estimated the crowd at 36,000.
In smaller numbers, pro-government supporters also set up a camp in central Belgrade near the National Assembly building.
Riot police tussled with anti-Vucic protesters near the camp after the official demonstration ended at 10 p.m.
Dacic in a statement strongly condemned the "attacks by the participants of the unannounced gathering in Slavija on the members of the Ministry of the Interior."
He said he would take all steps to restore order and that those who attacked police would be prosecuted.
Vucic said on social media that the protesters had attempted to overthrow the state. "They wanted to topple Serbia, and they have failed," he wrote.
AP quoted a student protester as saying, “Elections are a clear way out of the social crisis caused by the deeds of the government, which is undoubtedly against the interests of their own people.”
“Today, on June 28, 2025, we declare the current authorities illegitimate,” she added.
For the past eight months, thousands of Serbians, often led by student groups but increasingly joined by others, have taken to the streets in protest against Vucic.
The November 1 collapse of the Novi Sad Railway Station cement canopy that killed 16 people triggered one of the country’s largest protest movements in recent memory.
Protesters alleged that the tragedy was caused by official corruption and incompetence, and the demonstrations quickly spread to more general anger against Vucic, whose term five-year term is due to end in 2027. He has been president since 2017 and was prime minister for three years beforehand.
After initial protests, prosecutors announced the arrest of about a dozen officials related to the railway incident, including former Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic and the ex-director of railway infrastructure Jelena Tanaskovic.
Vucic's opponents accuse him and his government allies of having ties to organized crime, violence against political rivals, and of suppression of media freedom and free speech.
Vucic is attempting to balance his ties with the West -- with an eye on eventual EU membership -- and with traditional ally Russia.
He accused unnamed "foreign powers" as being behind the latest protests.
"The country will be defended, and thugs will face justice,” he told reporters.
Although the student-led protests have largely focused on government corruption, the June 28 demonstration also featured some nationalist rhetoric, including chants about Kosovo and a speech from a figure linked to Serbia’s wartime past.
