Particle.news
Download on the App Store
40 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

Serbian Student Protests Escalate With Mass Detentions and City Blockades

President Vucic has refused to call early elections, vowing further arrests in the wake of student-led unrest.

Image
Protestors throw flares at riot police after a student-led anti-government demonstration in Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday evening. Photo by Andrej Cukic/EPA
People attend a major anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
Image

Overview

  • Police detained 77 people over weekend clashes, with 38 protesters remaining in custody facing criminal charges, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said.
  • Riot units deployed tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades to clear crowds from Slavija Square, Nemanjina Avenue and around parliament.
  • Student-organized blockades on Sunday shut major thoroughfares in Belgrade and saw protesters in Novi Sad hurl eggs at Progressive Party offices.
  • President Vucic held a press conference accusing protest organizers of inciting violence, branding them “terrorists” and pledging further arrests.
  • The sustained youth-led campaign, sparked by a fatal rail station collapse blamed on corruption, has grown into one of Serbia’s largest civic mobilizations as EU accession talks stall.