Serbia detains nine over torture of protesters at government garage in Belgrade

Nine detained over the Belgrade garage case

Serbian authorities detained nine people on Wednesday, 4 November, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry. The ministry says the group is suspected of torturing and intimidating people, and it published only the suspects' initials and birth years. Reports differ on the split: Notícias ao Minuto and EL MUNDO describe eight active police officers plus one former officer or civilian, while RMF24 and The Guardian describe nine active officers and one former officer. The detentions come amid anti-corruption protests that swept Serbia in 2025 and 2026, which followed the collapse of a concrete canopy at a renovated railway station in Novi Sad that killed 16 people on 1 November 2024.

Alleged violence in the government garage

The ministry says the suspects, who served in an elite unit, acted between 14 and 15 August 2025 in the garage of a government compound in downtown Belgrade. It said they used force and threats to obtain information, and that several people were injured. The ministry's statement reads:

“By the use of force and threats, (they) inflicted great pain and severe suffering on a larger number of persons”

Public broadcaster RTS reports that Igor Zmiric, commander of the special anti-terrorist unit, is among those involved. A female student activist, detained during the August 2025 protests in Belgrade, has accused Zmiric of kicking her while she lay on the garage floor. She also says her then superior threatened her with rape. That superior, Marko Kricak, who led the criminal police, was detained on Sunday, 1 November, in a separate case.

Accusations against the former government

Dozens of students and activists who joined the protests have accused police of excessive force that caused injuries and psychological trauma. Police used teargas, crowd-control vehicles and stun grenades to disperse crowds during the demonstrations. Serbia is a candidate for European Union membership. Student leaders have called for rapid reform of the police and intelligence services. The leaderless Student List defeated the Serbian Progressive Party in a 25 October snap parliamentary election. Students, activists, opposition politicians and rights watchdogs accuse Aleksandar Vučić and his party of political violence, pressure on media, ties to organised crime and widespread corruption. Vučić and his allies deny these accusations.