Students in the blockade announced the arrest of Vladimir Stefanović, an anesthesiologist from the "Đorde Jovanović" hospital in Zrenjanin, who is deprived of his liberty after the Vidovdan protest.
"Vlada was helping an injured boy and at that moment he was attacked by a member of the police. The doctor showed his medical license, did not resist, nor did he act violently. Despite all this, the police first beat him with a truncheon and on that occasion inflicted minor physical injuries on his torso and limbs, and then deprived him of his liberty," they wrote in a post on Instagram.
They added that the Government was accused of an alleged attack on an official on June 30.6. he was remanded in custody for up to 30 days, due to the suspicion that he will "commit the crime again".
"On Wednesday, July 2, the Government's lawyer filed an appeal against the decision on detention, and the legal deadline for the court's decision was today, July 4, until 8:XNUMX am. The court has not made a decision until this moment, nor has it informed the counsel in question about the decision to appeal. This means only one thing - the Government is currently detained illegally," they pointed out.
In their announcement, the students stated that they demand that the court make a decision and cancel the detention measure as soon as possible.
"In addition, we ask the police commanders a question: Who and why allowed such behavior towards a healthcare worker during first aid", they asked and added:
"We thank the government for teaching us by its example what medical ethics is and how the patient's life and health are put first, even when the freedom and health of the doctor are threatened."
Support for Stefanović did not come only from students.
Namely, the Association of Health Workers of Serbia invited citizens, male and female colleagues, to come today, July 6, at 19 pm in front of the Central Prison in Bačvanska Street in Belgrade to demand the immediate release of Dr. Vladimir Stefanović.
Numerous arrests in the last week
According to available reports, during the Vidovdan protest in Belgrade, on the night of June 28-29, 77 demonstrators were arrested, 38 of whom were detained, and criminal and misdemeanor charges were filed against them.
In the days that followed, the police continued to make arrests during blockades in Belgrade and other cities, with the number of detainees growing — according to some sources, a total of around 79 people were arrested.
Therefore, for that weekend alone, between 77 and 79 arrests were registered, with a significant number of detentions and prosecutions of protest participants.
