The last act before the resignation of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, was the pardon of 49 people, and he released 11 of his "own" from criminal prosecution. Who are these people?
The now former President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, decided to pardon 49 people before leaving office, including, as he said, 12 from the "Novi Sad terrorist group", led by Milo Pajić.
In total, he pardoned 23 persons who are related to all "these terrible events of the last year and a half", and he decided to do so "despite the assessments of the security services".
"I made a decision to pardon 12 people from the Novi Sad group led by Milo Pajić, just as I made a decision to pardon 11 people who, on the other hand, participated in incidents against the blockaders," said Vučić during his speech before submitting resignation.
Although he spoke many times in detail and at length about the group from Novi Sad and now he considered it appropriate to explain that their actions were "terribly difficult", but that is why he did not say a word about who is among the 11 people who "on the other hand participated in the incidents against the blockaders".
If you look at who he pardoned "on his side" so far, it was those who ran over cars and seriously injured students on the streets.
The first major wave of pardons followed on January 29, 2025, when Vučić made 13 decisions on pardoning persons detained during protests and blockades. Among them were six students - D.B, MM and MK from Novi Sad, IB from Požega, RS from Sremska Kamenica and MS from Žablje. The dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, Natalija Jovanović, Radivoje Jovović, four principals of schools from Šabac and Bogatić, and a school assistant from Prokuplje were also pardoned.
At that time, Vučić was still trying to stop the street protests that were spreading across Serbia like a prairie fire and the blockade of all state faculties with the "outstretched hand of reconciliation" policy.
When he failed to do so, a few months later Vučić applied the pardon institute to persons accused of violence against students.
At the beginning of July 2025, four SNS activists who were on trial for attacking students in Novi Sad on the night between January 27 and 28 were pardoned. In that incident, several students were attacked, and a student of the Academy of Arts received a serious injury - a broken jaw.
By presidential decisions, those "heroes" were released from further criminal prosecution for the crimes they were charged with.
The third case that caused a lot of public attention was the pardon Milica Stojanović from Jakov. In January 2025, during the student blockade in Yurija Gagarina Street in Belgrade, she hit and injured protest participants with a car. She was initially suspected of attempted murder, but the legal qualification was later changed and the case was prosecuted for a serious crime against public safety.
With these pardons, a message was sent that those who physically oppose the "blockaders who want to destroy the state" will not suffer.
In submitting his resignation, Vučić said that it was "hard for him to bear" that some young people, "no matter how hard they have committed", spend their youth outside the borders of Serbia. He says it's an "act of mercy" and he wants to help young people.
Thus, he pardoned 12 Novi Sad activists and students accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.
The proceedings against them began on November 24 last year, against the accused activists of the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) Marija Vasić, Davor Stefanović, Lado Jovović, Srđan Đurić and Mladen Cvijetić, as well as the organization Students Against Authoritarian Power (STAV) Lazar Dinić, Mila Pajić, Doroteja Antić, Anja Pitulić, Branislav Đorđević, Jovan Dražić and Dejan Bagarić.
Six of them were in prison custody for months, then under house arrest, and a warrant was issued for six young people and they were tried in absentia.
Two STAV activists in exile, Branislav Đorđević and Doroteja Antić, gave statements to "Danas" after the news appeared that the former president had absolved them from further criminal proceedings.
They say that even though they have been abolished, they do not plan to return to Serbia as long as this regime is in power, because even with the abolition, they would not feel safe and would fear for their personal safety.
Branislav Đorđević tells "Danas" that he does not see this act as mercy, since they did not even ask for it, nor is this an act of mercy, but confirmation of the freedom that belongs to them.
"As the last blow of the regime and the former president, they tried to use our case for the last political point. To group us with their thugs, party mercenaries and criminals and thus try to 'reconcile' the irreconcilable - justice and crime. I didn't even expect anything from Vučić, since in 14 years he could only offer robbery, violation of basic human rights, powerlessness and corruption," says Đorđević.
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The pardon procedure implies the appropriate role of the Minister of Justice, who should initiate the procedure or submit an opinion on the pardon, says prosecutor Radovan Lazić.
Phone numbers 064 876 85 05 and 011 2068 100 will be available 24/7 for reports and addresses to citizens, and the possibility of direct addresses at the premises of the Protector of Citizens is also provided.
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