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Belgrade Protesters Form Human Wall as Parliament Fast-Tracks Kushner Redevelopment

A special statute speeding approvals and demolition at the former army HQ escalates a redevelopment still paused under a prosecutor’s forgery probe.

Overview

  • Serbia’s parliament passed a law naming the project of exceptional importance, enabling accelerated permits and clearing the way for demolition of the former army headquarters.
  • Hundreds gathered in central Belgrade to oppose the plan and formed a symbolic human barrier around the bombed-out complex.
  • Jared Kushner’s Miami-based Affinity Partners signed a 99-year lease for the site to build a luxury hotel complex, with UAE developer Eagle Hills as partner.
  • The project was suspended in May while prosecutors investigate allegations that documents were forged to strip the site’s protected-monument status.
  • President Aleksandar Vucic defends the plan as a lease bringing at least €650 million in investment, saying the state retains the land and projecting wider economic gains.