Several-hour blockade of court building in Novi Sad ends

Photo collage: Google Maps, Marko Jovanovic

Shortly before 2 pm, a multi-hour blockade of the court building and the prosecutor's office in Novi Sad, which was organized by the opposition, ended, after taking place for the most part peacefully.

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Opposition deputies and city councilors blocked the building again this morning, with the stairs leading to the court's entrance fenced off, and with a large number of members of the Gendarmerie and the polic deployed, with whom those protecting were occasionally pushing.

On several occasions, the police let the employees pass and allowed them to enter the building. There were about 20 opposition politicians in front of the court, among them Marinika Tepic, Srdjan Milivojevic, Borko Stefanovic, Miran Pogacar, Misa Baculov and others.

The opposition is demanding that the responsibility be determined for causing injuries to 74-year-old Novi Sad resident Ilija Kostic, whom the police previously announced was arrested because he sprayed an officer with pepper spray and was detained for up to 48 hours. Kostic claims that the Clinical Center of Vojvodina established that he had injuries.

Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said earlier today that a 74-year-old man will be held accountable for spraying tear gas into the eyes of a police officer, and that it will also be determined whether the man was injured by inadequate actions, or as consequence of the police using excessive force.

Dacic said that the Internal Control and the Prosecutor's Office will investigate everything and if someone had exceeded their authority, they will be held accountable.

The blockade was organized, as the opposition stated, also because those arrested after the protest held on November 5 who were brought in for violent behavior, destruction and damage of other people's property, assault on an official performing official duties and causing general danger.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)