Serbian opposition official Marinika Tepic said on Tuesday that members of a criminal group whose leaders were arrested recently were involved in shows of support for the authorities during overnight curfew under the state of emergency in 2020.

Tepic, a deputy leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), told reporters in the town of Pancevo that torch parties on apartment building rooftops were organized by members of the criminal group headed by Veljko Belivuk aka Velja Nevolja who was arrested last week. She showed a photograph of a man she named as Vladimir Grek who was arrested with Belivuk. “This is a man who was recorded on April 28, 2020 in front of the (ruling) Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters in Pancevo getting orders to start the shameful torch parties against the opposition and (SSP leader) Dragan Djilas,” she said.

According to Tepic, the security detail for the opening of a stadium in the city of Novi Pazar which was attended by President Aleksandar Vucic was organized by Belivuk and his crew. “Those are people who throttled reporters at Vucic’s inauguration,” she said.

Tepic’s open air news conference was interrupted by SNS activists who kept shouting insults to keep her from speaking. An N1 reporter said that a live chicken was thrown among the media crews.