BCBP: Serious irregularities, abuses, selective actions by police in Zajecar, Kosjeric

In a press release, the BCBP said that these events are part of a broader security context in which the police are increasingly failing to fulfill their primary role—protecting citizens and upholding the rule of law.

“In Kosjeric, there was a significant presence of both uniformed and plainclothes individuals, lacking legally required identification, who claimed to be police officers. Citizens were prevented from accessing certain areas, and several journalists were physically attacked and obstructed from carrying out their reporting,” said the BCBP.

In Zajecar, tensions were reported outside polling stations, with organized pressure on voters and incidents involving individuals acting outside the law, it said.

“During the elections in Kosjeric and Zajecar, individuals posing as officials—without identification or legal authority—controlled public spaces, restricted citizens’ movement, and intimidated voters,” the Center said.

It noted that these incidents follow weeks of police inaction in cases that have drawn significant public attention, adding that, notably, the brutal attack on a University of Belgrade law student, the son of a retired police general, remains unresolved, with no transparent information available about the investigation.

The BCBP said that attacks on activists and opposition MPs in and around the occupied public space of Pioneers’ Park in central Belgrade took place in full view of police officers, yet met with no institutional response, despite clear intimidation, violence, and displays of force by “ruling party loyalists.”

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) demanded an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into all incidents recorded on election day in Kosjeric and Zajecar, as well as accountability of the Ministry of Interior leadership for their failure to act in cases of violence and intimidation in Belgrade and other cities.