Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic told the pro-regime TV Pink that the police were ordered to act defensively at the recent protest in Novi Sad.

The protest was called over the deaths of 14 people in the collapse of a roof at Novi Sad railway station which was blamed on shoddy reconstruction and the authorities.

Dacic said that the police were ordered to react only when they had to in order to prevent clashes and added that some opposition parties accused the police of not reacting sooner against hooligans.

According to him, charges were filed and prosecutors and courts will correct possible mistakes made by the police.

“I was at police headquarters in Novi Sad that evening. You should have seen the problems the chiefs had with police officers who didn’t want to just stand aside and watch someone throw things at them,” the minister said.
Dacic said prosecutors had taken over the investigation into the collapse of the roof at the railway station.