BELGRADE (The Thursday Times) — Protesters stormed a Serbian television station loyal to Aleksandar Vučić and demanded the arrest of its editor, as tens of thousands took to the streets for a second night of celebrations after a student-led movement ended his party’s 14-year hold on power in Sunday’s election.
Live footage broadcast by Informer TV on Monday evening showed about 30 people entering its newsroom and surrounding its owner and editor-in-chief, Dragan Vučićević. Some shouted “This is how it is in free Serbia!” and “Where is Vučić now?”, while others called for his arrest. A crowd also gathered outside the pro-Vučić Pink TV in Belgrade, which police cordoned off.
Vučić, posting on Instagram in a jumper with the word “sorry” crossed out, called the raid an attack on free speech and journalism. Vučićević said that “on the very first day of power, they want to ban the media”.
End of an era
The Student List, which grew out of an anti-corruption protest movement, defeated Vučić’s alliance on Sunday, and fireworks lit up Serbian cities almost as soon as he conceded. Vučić became prime minister in 2014 and president in 2017, and was information minister under Slobodan Milošević in the 1990s. Critics accused him of keeping tight control over the media throughout his rule.
The movement has no single leader, and Serbians are waiting to see whom it names as prime minister. Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist who led its electoral list, urged supporters to stay calm. “Don’t resort to any form of violence,” he said in a video on Instagram.
Media under scrutiny
The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia said it would apply to have Informer TV’s licence revoked over what it called systematic violations of the law. The public broadcaster in the northern Vojvodina region opened its evening bulletin by apologising to viewers for one-sided, uncritical reporting. Serbia ranked 104th of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, its lowest ever, and the election monitor Crta said national TV stations had given three-quarters of political airtime to government representatives before the vote.
