Serbian Ombudsman Zoran Pasalic said on Friday that the police broke the law during the July 2020 protests in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

Pasalic’s report said that the police did not have visible ID and that the Internal Affairs Sector identified only one person who broke the law during the protests.

The Obmudsman launched investigations into the police behavior based on media reports and videos posted on social media, a press release said adding that the violations committed by the police included excessive use of force, illegal use of weapons and other equipment, violations of personal integrity. The report said that the police did not have visible ID which made it more difficult to identify officers who broke the law. The report said that the Internal Affairs Sector did not launch investigations immediately.

The Ombudsman said that the Internal Affairs Minister, Director of Police and police department chiefs should send a strong message that inadequate behavior towards the public is illegal, unprofessional and subject to sanctions by conducting effective investigations.