Serbia detains 10 police officers over alleged abuse of protesters

Serbian authorities have detained nine active police officers and one former officer over allegations that they used excessive force against protesters held in Belgrade last year. The detentions were announced by the interior ministry on Wednesday and relate to claims of torture and intimidation during anti-corruption demonstrations. The case adds a new accountability step in a protest movement that has already reshaped Serbia's political landscape.

According to the ministry, the suspects served in an elite unit and are accused of mistreating several people detained in the garage of a government compound in downtown Belgrade on 14 and 15 August 2025. The statement said the officers used force and threats to inflict severe pain and suffering, with the aim of obtaining information, intimidating detainees and unlawfully punishing them. The ministry gave only the initials of those detained.

The arrests are the first major detentions linked to allegations of violence against protesters during the wave of anti-corruption rallies that spread across Serbia in 2025 and 2026. Those protests followed the collapse of a concrete canopy at a renovated railway station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, in which 16 people died. Police used tear gas, crowd-control vehicles and stun grenades to disperse crowds during the demonstrations, and dozens of students and activists later accused officers of causing injuries and psychological trauma.

The case matters because it touches on allegations of abuse by state security forces during a period of intense political unrest. Serbia is a candidate for European Union membership, and the handling of protest policing has become part of wider scrutiny of the country's institutions. The detentions also come after the anti-corruption movement helped drive the ouster of the Serbian Progressive Party in a snap parliamentary election on 25 October, according to the report.

The protests were tied to broader criticism of the authorities, with students, activists, opposition politicians and rights groups accusing President Aleksandar Vučić and his allies of political violence, pressure on the media, links to organised crime and corruption. Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party have denied those accusations. The ministry's move suggests prosecutors and police are now pursuing allegations that had previously been raised by demonstrators and watchdogs.

It is not yet clear whether further arrests or charges will follow, or what disciplinary action may be taken inside the police force. The ministry has not identified the detained officers by name, and the legal process is still at an early stage. What happens next will depend on whether investigators can substantiate the allegations and whether the case leads to wider scrutiny of police conduct during the protests.

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