Serbia detains officers over alleged torture of protesters

Serbia’s Interior Ministry announced the detentions on 4 November 2026, over suspected abuse and torture during anti-corruption protests. Its statement lists 8 serving officers and 1 former officer. The Guardian gave a different count: 9 serving officers and 1 former officer.

The ministry alleges that the suspects used force and threats against detained protesters in the Serbian government building’s garage in Belgrade on 14–15 August 2025. It says they inflicted great pain and severe suffering to obtain information, intimidate the detainees and punish them unlawfully.

The investigation

The ministry identified the suspects’ unit at the time as the Unit for the Protection of Certain Persons and Facilities. Al Jazeera said Serbian media identified one detainee as Igor Žmirić, the current commander of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit. The ministry gave the suspects’ initials rather than their names.

Al Jazeera said prosecutors requested surveillance footage from the garage in late August 2025, but police replied that the recordings no longer existed because they were automatically deleted. Ombudsman Zoran Pašalić later said he had reviewed the recordings.

The outlet said the detention operation followed a final report from the ministry’s Internal Control Sector and a binding instruction from the Supreme Public Prosecutor on Monday to act urgently in the case.

N1 reported that Belgrade’s Higher Court remanded police chiefs Marko Kričak and Boško Sekulović for 30 days over their handling of a restaurant murder investigation, citing the risk that they could influence witnesses. Both were suspected of abuse of office; Kričak was also suspected of beating and torturing the restaurant owner during questioning. Al Jazeera described Kričak’s recent arrest for abuse of office as a separate case from the garage allegations.

Protests and political change

Anti-corruption protests spread across Serbia in 2025 and 2026 after a canopy at the renovated Novi Sad railway station collapsed on 1 November 2024, killing 16 people. Dozens of students and activists accused police of excessive force that caused injuries and psychological trauma.

The Guardian said the protests led to the defeat of the Serbian Progressive Party, loyal to former President Aleksandar Vučić, by the Student List in the 25 October 2026, snap parliamentary election. Students, activists, opposition politicians and rights groups have accused Vučić and his party of political violence, pressure on media, ties to organized crime and corruption. Vučić and his allies deny the accusations.

What happens next

The ministry said its Internal Control Sector ordered detention for up to 48 hours on instructions from a prosecutor at Belgrade’s First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office. It said the suspects would be brought before the competent prosecutor within the statutory deadline.