Thousands protest against “political violence” in Serbia

Thousands of people rallied peacefully in downtown Belgrade on Saturday to protest over the attack against leader of Serbian Left party Borko Stefanovic, who was violently attacked in late November, and demanded policy changes by President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive party.

The opposition called on citizens to protest the lack of democracy in Serbia and the oppression of dissenting voices in and out of parliament.

Opposition leader Stefanovic was attacked by a group of men wearing black clothing on November 23 in the southern city of Krusevac and suffered minor injuries from being beaten with an iron rod. President Vucic said the assailants were arrested shortly after the incident, but opposition figures maintain that his party was involved, which Progressive leaders vehemently deny.