BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday called Tuesday night's riots outside of the parliament building against COVID-19 measures the most flagrant case of political violence in several years.
Late Tuesday, the Serbian president revealed plans to impose new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, including the same curfew that had been enforced during the March-May state of emergency. This prompted a clash between protesters and the police outside of the country's parliament, with 43 officers and 20 citizens injured, and 24 protesters arrested. Five police vehicles were also burned down during the night.
"At night, in Belgrade, we witnessed the most flagrant political violence in the last several years. Over the last eight years, unlike before then, the Republic of Serbia has shown total respect for the freedom of assembly and demonstration, the freedom of expressing a dissenting opinion and has never jeopardized this right of its citizens," Vucic said at a briefing, accusing far-right radicals of storming the parliament and attacking the police.
Serbia has confirmed a total of 17,076 coronavirus cases, with a death toll of 341.
