Supporters of Serbia’s student-led opposition have stormed the Belgrade offices of Informer, a broadcaster supportive of former President Aleksandar Vucic, as celebrations of their election win turned violent. Vucic condemned the attack as an assault on media freedom and accused the EU of turning a blind eye.
The incident came a day after the Student List movement defeated Vucic’s United Serbia coalition in a snap parliamentary election, ending 14 years of rule by his Serbian Progressive Party and its allies.
According to Informer, demonstrators smashed windows and forced their way through the entrance before damaging offices and threatening journalists. Employees reportedly hid in bathrooms and the basement before police arrived and evacuated staff.
Editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vucicevic said attackers destroyed cameras, computers and other equipment worth tens of thousands of euros. Some demanded access to the control room to disconnect cables, he said.
🇷🇸An angry opposition crowd has reached the Informer TV channel, known for its support of former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The protesters are demanding that the channel’s editor-in-chief be handed over to them Journalist Sergey Petrov said that if the demonstrators’ demands are not met, they will arrest him - with or without the police. “People said they would drag everyone out of the TV station building themselves. They promised to take them to the square, where a celebration is currently being held to mark the opposition’s victory in the parliamentary elections,” he said. ukraine_watch
According to Vucicevic, protesters offered to withdraw if Informer stopped broadcasting. He refused and pledged to return to the studio and resume programming as far as the remaining equipment allowed.
Vucic condemned the incident as “unprecedented violence” and “monstrous violence,” accusing the EU and journalists’ associations of remaining silent.
“An attack on freedom of expression, on freedom of public speech, on freedom of journalism,” he said. “If we had done that to N1 and Nova S, we would have been the worst thugs, dictators and autocrats,” he added, referring to broadcasters critical of his political camp.
BREAKING: Protesters STORM the live studio of Informer TV, Serbia's loudest pro-Vučić channel, one day after Vučić's party lost the snap election > About 20 broke in during a live broadcast and confronted owner-editor Dragan J. Vučićević for several minutes before he was led out > On air, he said the building was surrounded and a door smashed, then called police and was put on hold > Police later arrived and escorted the protesters out Wild scenes in Belgrade. 🎥 @Lukai1861 | per N1, Vreme
Vucic also accused Student List figure Ilija Srdanovic of refusing a request from Informer’s editor to urge the crowd to leave. Srdanovic subsequently appealed for calm and urged supporters not to resort to violence.
The Student List secured 52.71% of the vote and 140 parliamentary seats, according to preliminary results announced by Serbia’s electoral commission on Monday evening. Vucic conceded defeat and pledged to continue his political struggle from the opposition.
During the election-night celebrations, crowds also dismantled a longstanding pro-Vucic tent camp near parliament, with tents and vehicles reportedly set ablaze.
The student-led movement emerged from nearly two years of protests following the November 2024 railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people and sparked allegations of corruption and failures in safety oversight. Vucic resigned as president in September to contest the parliamentary election.
Moscow said on Monday that it was willing to work with Serbia’s incoming government. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Vucic’s contribution to bilateral relations and expressed hope that the new leadership would recognize cooperation with Russia as serving Serbia’s interests.
Student List representative Jovo Bakic told RT Balkan that the movement would maintain Belgrade’s refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow. “We respect Russia both as a great power and as our historically important partner and, in many cases, protector,” he said.
However, the movement’s position on the sanctions remains unclear. In an interview with RFE/RL, Srdanovic reaffirmed Serbia’s commitment to EU integration but declined to rule out reconsidering its refusal to sanction Moscow. Pressed on the issue, he said foreign policy should be determined through an open public debate rather than by a single leader, insisting that citizens should have the final say.
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