A group of citizens set up new blockades at Republic Square in Belgrade today, July 1. Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporters indicate that Kolarčeva Street is blocked, with protesters continuously crossing the street. Police are present at the scene.
Police also arrived near the Faculty of Law, where containers and other obstacles were previously placed at the intersection of Bulevar kralja Aleksandra and Beogradska Street. Traffic in that area was halted this morning but has since been restored, according to RFE reporters. Upon the police’s arrival, Public Utility Company workers removed the barricades from the street.
Context of Ongoing Protests and Police Response
In the days following the massive protest at Slavija Square on June 28, citizens began organizing “mobile blockades” in multiple locations across Belgrade and other Serbian cities. Police have been actively dispersing these blockades throughout Sunday evening and all day Monday. Some police actions have involved arrests, with students alleging excessive use of force by officers.
In response to these accusations, the police stated they acted “highly professionally.” Conversely, students involved in the blockades reported that 29 of their colleagues were detained on the morning of June 30.
Videos posted on student social media accounts show arrests and the dismantling of some barricades, with captions claiming that “the people were beaten and deprived of freedom” and that “the police are hiding their identity and beating their own people.” Footage of arrests, involving police force, has been shared from blockades near the Faculty of Law in central Belgrade and in Vojvode Stepe Street in the Voždovac neighborhood. One widely circulated video shows police vehicles accelerating towards demonstrators in Vojvode Stepe Street, forcing them to flee the roadway.
