Serbia’s opposition: Police arrest and threaten everyone who protests

N1

The opposition Alliance for Serbia (SzS) condemned on Monday the arrest of the citizens, describing them as political, and said “the regime started to detain and threat every participant in the #1 in 5 million protests, after seeing they did not give up, after three months,” N1 reported.

SzS said the arrests were political and demanded the release of all detained.

Serbia’s police director Vladimir Rebic said on Monday that 18 people were detained in the last two days in connection with the protests and for entering the RTS building. Nine are accused of violating the Law on public order and peace, while eight face criminal charges.

An SzS leader Bosko Obradovic gave on Sunday the authorities a deadline until 3 pm on Monday to release all detained.

Rebic said the announced deadline was senseless since the detained were now in the hands of the courts and the police could not call anyone in the courts.

In a statement, SzS said that among the detained were young people between 18 and 28 years of age.

“We condemn the detention of the members of United Phantoms group (known for sarcastic performances) who were among other citizens inside the (state) RTS television building on Saturday, but did not imperil anyone’s safety,” the statement said.

“The arrested were sentenced to 30-day in prison and immediately transferred to the Padinska Skela jail, while those who had beaten up (an SzS) leader Borko Stefanovic (the incident from last November that triggered the popular protests in Belgrade and across Serbia) and who set ablaze the house of journalist Milan Jovanovic, are free,” it added.