A rally in support of arrested anesthesiologist Vladimir Stefanović is currently underway outside the Central Prison in Bačvanska, Belgrade. The demonstration was organized by the Assembly of Serbian Health Workers.
Calls for Release and Political Change
Chants of “Release Vlado,” “Resignations then prison,” and “Arrest Vučić” echoed among the gathered crowd. In addition to health workers, citizen assemblies and other citizens also joined the protest.
Banners at the demonstration displayed messages such as “Healthy system, healthy people” and “Freedom for Dr. Vlado.”
Health Workers Condemn Arrest
Dr. Mila Paunić from the Assembly of Serbian Health Workers told N1 that a great injustice has been done to their colleague, Vladimir, by holding him in Central Prison, and their assembly is demanding an explanation.
“Our colleague has been in prison for eight days because he provided help and did what he did, which is the moral, ethical, and human obligation of a health worker. He was beaten, he showed his medical ID, and despite that, for eight days, we have been demanding his immediate release and that institutions finally start doing their job,” she stated, questioning the silence of the Medical Chamber and Medical Society.
Earlier, Dugalić described Stefanović’s arrest as “unprecedented regime repression,” and medical students in a blockade also demanded his release from detention.
