Clashes broke out between groups of protesters and police as a student-led movement returned to the Serbian capital Belgrade on Saturday demanding an end to President Aleksandar Vucic’s 12-year rule.
The populist leader has been accused by critics of consolidating power and weakening democratic checks and balances.
The protest movement erupted nearly 18 months ago after 16 people died when a newly-reconstructed roof collapsed at a major railway station, which was blamed on corruption and negligence.
What happened in the latest protests?
According to media reports, thousands of people attended the rally, with many protesters wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Victory for students” or carrying Serbian flags or banners bearing the name of their town or city.
While the main protest was mostly peaceful, later groups of young protesters broke away and clashed with police, throwing fires, stones and bottles. Riot police responded with tear gas and stun grenades, moving in to disperse them.
During the protests, participants called for early parliamentary elections, accused the government of crime and corruption, and demanded a return to the rule of law.
Organizers also accused the state rail operator of trying to prevent people from other parts of Serbia from traveling to the protests, after trains in and out of Belgrade were canceled citing bomb fears.
The rally in Belgrade’s Slavija Square was the scene of a massive anti-government protest in March 2025, attended by 300,000 people before it ended under controversial circumstances.
During that rally, the government denied using sonic weapons against protesters, which was later confirmed by independent experts.
Student revolt sparked by Novi Sad disaster
The student movement emerged in November 2024 following the fatal collapse of a 48-meter concrete canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city.
Sixteen people died in the tragedy, which occurred shortly after the station was renovated as part of a major Chinese-funded infrastructure project.
The collapse was blamed on poor workmanship and inadequate inspection, sparking a massive public outcry.
Subsequently, then-Prime Minister Miloš Vučević was forced to resign, while Vucic began a crackdown on the protest movement after some rallies turned violent.
Vucic supports double down
While Saturday’s rally was underway, Vucic loyalists gathered in a park camp outside the Serbian presidential palace, which they had set up as a human shield against protesters on the final march.
Vucic and pro-government media outlets have recently stepped up political rhetoric against his critics, labeling them terrorists and foreign agents who want to destroy the country.
Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but maintains close ties with Russia and China.
The country’s democratic comeback under Vucic could cost the country about €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) in EU funding, the bloc’s top enlargement official warned last month.
On Friday, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner expressed grave concern about Serbia’s deteriorating human rights situation, highlighting increasing attacks on journalists and activists, shrinking civic space and reports of police violence during protests.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
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