Anti-government protests started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed in November, killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy in the northern city of Novi Sad on corruption-fuelled negligence in state infrastructure projects.
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Thousands of people set up street blockades in Serbia on Sunday, angry over the arrest of anti-government protesters who clashed with police at a massive rally a day earlier calling for snap parliamentary elections.
Demonstrators set up metal fences and put garbage containers in various locations across the city, also blocking a key bridge over the Sava River.
Elsewhere in Serbia in the city of Novi Sad, protesters pelted the offices of the ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party with eggs.
Local media reported that similar protest blockades were organised in other smaller cities as well.
The protesters demanded that authorities release dozens of university students and other protesters who were jailed for attacking the police or for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government at a rally on Saturday in Belgrade.
Tens of thousands had gathered at that rally. They demanded early elections after months of protesters spurred by a deadly train station awning collapse blamed on government corruption.
The anti-corruption protests have been going on for eight months after the deadly collapse of the newly renovated train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people.
Protesters declared the current populist government “illegitimate” and laid the responsibility for any violence on the government.
Clashes with riot police on Saturday erupted after the official part of the rally ended. Police used pepper spray, batons and shields while protesters threw rocks, bottles and other objects.
Police said on Sunday that 48 officers were injured while 22 protesters sought medical help. Out of 77 people detained, 38 remained in custody Sunday, most of them facing criminal charges, said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.
At least eight more people were detained during the day, the prosecutors said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić earlier Sunday announced the arrests at a press conference, accusing organizers of the rally of inciting violence and attacks on police, urging legal prosecution.
He also criticized "terrorists and those who tried to bring down the state,” singling out University of Belgrade's head dean, Vladan Djokic, who was among the protesters.
“There will be more arrests,” Vučić said. “Identification of all individuals is underway.”
He and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party have rejected calls for early elections, accusing protesters of seeking to incite unrest under foreign influence without providing evidence.