The riots in Belgrade on Wednesday night in front of the parliament in connection with the measures against COVID-19 have become the worst political violence in the past few years, said Serbian President Alexander Vučić.
Vučić announced Tuesday night plans to introduce new restrictions to combat coronavirus. So, from Friday to Monday, curfew is introduced again, as during the emergency mode from March to May 6. After his speech on Wednesday night, protesters against tightening measures clashed with the police at the Serbian parliament, 43 policemen were injured, 24 protesters were detained, two dozen citizens were injured, and five police cars were burned.
“At night in Belgrade, we witnessed the grossest political violence in the past few years. The Republic of Serbia in the past eight years, unlike in the early days, fully respected freedom of assembly and demonstration, freedom of expression and never threatened this right of its citizens”, – said Vučić at a briefing.
Vučić said that the participation of crime and special services from the region were noticed in a “well-organized protest”. He noted that among the most active protesters were supporters of a hard line towards migrants, “opponents of 5G networks and those who believe that the earth is flat”. The head of state also said that two of the detained aggressive protesters had repeatedly had problems with the law, one of them being a citizen of Montenegro.