A group of citizens in Novi Pazar organised a protest on Saturday demanding that authorities reveal the true full number of coronavirus cases and fatalities in the Sandzak region, the dismissal of the Crisis Staff hospital coordinator Mirsad Djerlek and an investigation into spending and using numerous donations from the country and abroad.

Some 50 people gathered for the protest, carrying banners saying ‘Accountable to the law’, ‘List the donations’, ‘Why thank Vucic?’ and ‘Thank the diaspora’.

They called on Djerlek to „get out in front of the people and explain his actions“ as they chanted against the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. There were no incidents during the protest but there was an increased police presence.

Doctors and nurses in Novi Pazar turned their backs in protest earlier this month during a visit by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic who claimed that the government had done everything possible to fight the pandemic in the Sandzak area of southwestern Serbia.