A senior Serbian police officer said on Wednesday that 12 people were identified as causing a public disturbance during the protest gathering in Novi Sad, including a former Constitutional Court judge. Pročitaj više

Police Colonel Dragan Vasiljevic, an assistant Director of Police, told the Serbian state TV (RTS) that 8 of those people were in detention. He added that a large number of crimes were committed during the gathering which he said was not registered with the police.

The police colonel claimed that former Constitutional Court Judge Svetozar Ciplic was identified as a man carrying a hammer during the protest.

Vasiljevic said the other people who took part in the rioting would be identified during the day. He confirmed the arrest of opposition politician, former Indjija Mayor Goran Jesic who was seen on live TV confronting two men in plain clothes who were pulling a young man along who did not immediately identify themselves as police officers.

He claimed that the police resorted to minimum force, using only pepper spray and tear gas and added that 10 police officers and two civilians were injured. The police shown on live TV were all in body armor with shields.