Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has accused the opposition-aligned Student List of using “terror, beatings and persecution” instead of democratic institutions, claiming that police and prosecutors are carrying out arrests at its direction.
Speaking at a press conference at the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters, Vučić said Serbia had lost its stability in just 17 days, describing stability as a cornerstone of the country’s development.
He claimed that the Student List had effectively taken absolute power following its electoral victory, despite not yet forming a government.
“Their institutions of power are not state institutions. Their instruments of power are terror, beatings, persecution, harassment and the abuse of prosecutors and an almost non-existent police force,” Vučić said.
Allegations over police arrests and RTS employees
Vučić referred to the recent arrests of commanders from two police units, including Igor Žmirić, commander of Serbia’s Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ). He alleged that Žmirić had been arrested on the instructions of the Student List.
Žmirić was arrested on November 4 in an operation conducted by the Ministry of Interior’s Internal Affairs Sector. A criminal complaint had previously been filed against him over alleged involvement in the arrests and mistreatment of students and citizens during protests in Belgrade on August 14 last year.
Vučić also repeated allegations that the Student List had requested personal files belonging to employees of Serbia’s public broadcaster, RTS.
He described the alleged request as a “brutal humiliation” of employees and compared the Student List’s actions to those of Nazi Germany’s Gestapo, claiming that even the Gestapo had not demanded such files from Radio Belgrade employees.
The allegations stem from a recording of an internal RTS meeting in which acting editor-in-chief of the broadcaster’s news programme, Borivoje Uskoković, reads out a list of names. However, the alleged request from the Student List has not been made public, and the group has not confirmed making it.
Vučić also addressed the detention of Millennium Team executives Stojan Vujko and Ivan Bošnjak. He claimed the company held a legally binding construction permit for preparatory works and accused authorities of attempting to destroy one of Serbia’s largest construction companies, which employs between 2,500 and 3,000 people.
Pensions, cash shortages and the government deadline
Addressing concerns over cash availability for pension payments, Vučić blamed the situation on instability, claiming that citizens had been buying euros in large quantities.
Serbia’s Post Office said earlier that it had sufficient cash reserves and that 66 post offices would remain on duty to distribute pensions.
Vučić further claimed that the Student List had another 110 days to form a government, arguing that the delay suited the group because it had nothing to show the public. He warned that postponing the formation of a government could jeopardize preparations for EXPO 2027.
During the press conference, Vučić presented a 73-page document that he said contained a list of attacks against SNS members and activists following the elections. The contents of the document could not be independently verified.
“Everyone will be held accountable. Whether in six months or a year does not matter,” Vučić warned.
