Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić announced that 114 people were detained following violent incidents at protests across Serbia, including three foreign nationals from Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.
Speaking at a Friday press conference, Dačić questioned the motives of the Croatian detainee, saying: “What is a Croatian citizen doing at a protest, attacking the Gendarmerie? Imagine if someone from Serbia went to Zagreb and attacked their police.”
According to Dačić, the detained Slovenian citizen is of Serbian origin and had “completed intelligence studies in the United States”, adding: “So much for claims that there is no foreign involvement.”
Official figures show that 75 police officers were injured in Thursday night’s clashes, with 34 criminal charges and 28 misdemeanor charges filed so far. Over the past three days of unrest, 121 police officers have been injured, nine of them seriously.
The Croatian Embassy in Belgrade told Radio Free Europe that it had not received any official notification about the detention of the Croatian citizen, meaning there were no legal grounds for consular action. Similarly, Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said it had not been informed of the arrest.
Diplomatic missions of Slovenia and Italy have yet to respond to inquiries from Radio Free Europe regarding Dačić’s statements.
The protests, now in their third consecutive night, have been led by students and anti-government activists demanding accountability for the November 1 collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy, which killed 16 people. The government has rejected responsibility and refused to call early elections, one of the key demands of the demonstrators.
