The European Green Party has denounced threats from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who stated he would pursue legal action against two senior party officials following their participation in an anti-government demonstration on Friday night, reports 24brussels.
Serbian police forcibly dispersed thousands of protesters at the University of Novi Sad, with reports indicating the use of tear gas, batons, and stun grenades to clear the area.
Danish Green MEP Rasmus Nordqvist and Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the umbrella organization of European Green parties, participated in the protests after appearing alongside leaders of the Serbian Green-Left Front at the national parliament.
In a televised late-night address following the police operation, Vučić criticized Nordqvist and Tsetsi, calling them “scum from the European Green Party … that came to support the violence in Novi Sad,” according to a party press release.
“I have to tell them that they will be prosecuted in line with the laws of Serbia,” Vučić asserted.
The European Green Party responded on Saturday, condemning Vučić’s remarks as “crossing every line of democratic discourse” and undermining the rule of law and freedom of speech in Serbia.
Nordqvist urged EU institutions to confront what he termed Vučić’s “embrace of authoritarianism” in a country that aspires to join the EU.
Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party is affiliated with Europe’s center-right political group, the European People’s Party (EPP), which is led by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The European Parliament is set to debate the “wave of violence and continuous use of force against protesters in Serbia” on Tuesday.
Serbia’s Most Sustained Protest Movement Since Yugoslav Era
The student-led protests began last year in response to local corruption suspected in the collapse of a station roof in Novi Sad that resulted in 16 deaths. The protests represent the most sustained movement in Serbia since the dissolution of Yugoslavia.
Demonstrators are calling for early elections and the resignation of Vučić, who has governed the country since 2014 — first as prime minister, then as president — employing increasingly authoritarian measures.
Universities have become central to this movement, with protesters occupying nearly all institutions of higher education across Serbia since the demonstrations commenced.
Recent skirmishes at the University of Novi Sad erupted after the dean ordered protesters to vacate the faculty of philosophy, which had been occupied for nine months.
On Friday night, police intervened after protesters reportedly attacked them with stones and bottles, leading to the arrest of 42 individuals. Protesters have claimed that authorities orchestrated the violence to legitimize a severe crackdown.
