11 indicted for assaulting police during clashes outside State University of Novi Pazar

The indictment, which is to be considered by the Basic Court, charges the defendants with assaulting police officers in the line of duty. If convicted, they face between three and ten years in prison.

They are charged with attacking police officers on July 29 outside the State University of Novi Pazar, with some of them allegedly kicking officers, hitting them with belts, throwing chairs, water bottles, and rocks at them.

The unrest began after university management, accompanied by a private security firm from Kraljevo, entered the building overnight to forcibly evict students who had been blockading the university building.

In response, residents from Novi Pazar and surrounding towns gathered at the site, demanding that the police - who had formed a cordon at the entrance - allow the students to return to the building.

The situation escalated into several skirmishes between the crowd and the police. Officers eventually withdrew from the scene, allowing the students to return to the university building.

In the days following the incident, police arrested several suspects. The arrests sparked further protests outside the local courthouse and the blocking of a major roundabout in central Novi Pazar, as demonstrators demanded that the detainees be released pending trial.