site.btaTen People Arrested in University of Novi Pazar for Clashing with Police after Trying to Lift Student Blockade

Police in the southwestern Serbian town of Novi Pazar have identified and arrested nine local men on suspicion of assaulting a public official in the line of duty, public broadcaster RTS reported on Wednesday.

Another man has been detained on suspicion of "inciting national, racial, and religious hatred and intolerance".

Novi Pazar is a multi-ethnic Serbian town populated mainly by Bosniaks. The prosecutor's office ordered the detention of the ten perpetrators for up to 48 hours.

Earlier Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dacic, told RTS that the actions of the police were determined solely by the need to ensure public order and peace, and that the arrests of the offenders do not depend on their political or religious affiliation.

In the early hours of July 29, a group of about twenty masked and hooded individuals stormed the building of the State University of Novi Pazar yelling: “Fire, everyone out!”

According to the university students participating in the months-long blockade of their school, the assailants forcibly removed anyone who refused to leave the university premises.

Later that day, a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Informer TV made it clear that the men were private security guards hired by the rector of the university to lift the blockade.

In the evening, the students returned to the premises of the university and declared victory. Protests were held last night in Belgrade, Nis, and other Serbian cities in support of the students from Novi Pazar.

Since late November 2024, students have been blocking the operations of more than 60 faculties across the country.

Students occupying the Belgrade Medical School since December 2024 reported being removed by police on July 23, a day after officers cleared out another group from the Belgrade Student Cultural Center.

The student-led protests, sparked by the deaths of 16 people in the November 1, 2024 Novi Sad railway station incident, call for political accountability and early elections, posing the biggest challenge yet to President Vucic’s leadership.