Roads blocked across Serbia on Friday morning

In Belgrade, intersections were blocked across the city by students and their supporters after 7 am. Strong police and Gendarmerie forces in riot gear moved in to break up the road block protests, arresting several students at the School of Drama Arts and School of Machine Engineering along with at least one professor. Those arrests prompted gatherings in front of police stations to demand the release of the students. The crowd was told in front of one police station that the arrested students would be brought before a misdemeanor judge during the morning, contrary to the earlier practice of holding arrested students in jail for 48 hours as the police are allowed to do under the law.

The road blocks were set up using garbage containers which were rolled out onto the road with people standing around them. Traffic was stopped completely in some streets with city transport buses forming long lines before the police managed to clear the roads. The crowds booed the police and whistled at them.

In the southern city of Nis, several groups of protesters are moving through the city, blocking 5-6 intersections at a time before moving on. An N1 reporter in the city said that the crowds were being followed by strong police forces.

In the northern city of Novi Sad, the road block protests began at 6 am with at least 3 major intersections blocked. Strong police forces arrested several people at the protests.

A major incident was reported in the city of Smederevo when a taxi driver rammed through the protest at high speed, carrying a protester on the hood for some 200 meters.