Serbian authorities detained nine active police officers and one former officer on Wednesday over allegations that they used excessive force against people held during anti-corruption protests in Belgrade last year, the country's interior ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry said the suspects served in an elite unit and were accused of torturing and intimidating several people who were detained in the garage of the government compound in downtown Belgrade on 14 and 15 August 2025.
"By the use of force and threats, (they) inflicted great pain and severe suffering on a larger number of persons, intending to obtain information from them and intimidating and unlawfully punishing them," the statement said.
The ministry released only the initials of those detained. The detentions mark the first major arrests connected to violence against protesters who took to the streets over the past two years.
Anti-corruption demonstrations swept Serbia, a candidate for European Union membership, in 2025 and 2026. The protest movement was sparked by the deaths of 16 people when a concrete canopy on a renovated railway station in the city of Novi Sad collapsed on 1 November 2024.
The unrest ultimately led to the ouster of the populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which is loyal to former president Aleksandar Vučić. The party was defeated by the leaderless Student List in a snap parliamentary election on 25 October.
During the protests, police used teargas, crowd-control vehicles and stun grenades to disperse crowds.
Dozens of students and activists who participated in the demonstrations accused police of excessive use of force, saying it caused injuries and psychological trauma.
Serbian students, activists, opposition politicians and rights watchdogs have accused Vučić and the SNS of political violence, pressure against media, ties to organised crime and rampant corruption. Vučić and his allies deny the accusations.
