Arrests and detention of blockade participants in Užice

Category: Persecution

Period: from 6 Jul 2025

Outcome: No one investigated (as of 22 Aug 2026)

After a blockade of the main road in Užice on 6 July 2025, which the Gendarmerie broke up with pepper spray, police detained seven people on suspicion of attacking an official on duty. Among them were lawyer Radovan Novaković and teacher Branko Nikolić, who was arrested in the middle of a class. The Basic Court ordered them held in custody, and in the case of Nikolić, who has a heart condition, it did so in his absence and without a hearing. Lawyers across Serbia stopped working in criminal proceedings for three days. The men were released on 14 July and say there was no attack, and in August 2026 the prosecution indicted four of them.

Blockade and arrests

On the evening of 6 July 2025, several hundred residents of Užice broke through a police cordon and blocked the main road to Zlatibor. The Gendarmerie broke up the sit-in with pepper spray, and residents accused the police of using excessive force.

The next morning police detained seven people, among them lawyer and councillor Radovan Novaković, councillor Vladan Sinđić and student Pavle Cicvarić. They arrested teacher Branko Nikolić at his school, in the middle of a class. All of them are suspected of attacking an official on duty.

Custody and the lawyers' strike

Nikolić, who has a heart condition, ended up in the coronary care unit. On 9 July the Basic Court ordered all seven held in custody for up to 30 days, and it ruled on Nikolić in his absence and without a hearing. A day later two more men were arrested.

Over Novaković's detention, the Bar Association of Serbia suspended lawyers' work in criminal proceedings nationwide for three days. Justice Minister Nenad Vujić said that "the street cannot judge", and President Vučić told the lawyers he "couldn't care less" about the strike. From custody, Novaković claimed that Supreme Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac and the minister had influenced the course of the case. This has not been confirmed.

Release, and what those released say

After daily protests in Užice, on 14 July 2025 a panel of the Basic Court released the seven to await trial at liberty and placed two of them under house arrest. The Interior Ministry criticised the court for sending the message that attacking the police is "allowed and goes unpunished".

Those released say there was no attack. According to Sinđić, the cordon gave way under the pressure of the crowd. Novaković says it was he who was injured, not a police officer, and that his complaint against the officer has been left sitting in a drawer. In the words of Cicvarić: "to them you are a rabid dog that doesn't deserve to be free".

Indictment against four

A year later, on 21 August 2026, the prosecution indicted four people, among them Novaković, Nikolić and Cicvarić. The offence carries up to 10 years in prison, and Novaković also faces the loss of his licence to practise law. They learned of the indictment from the media. By the end of August 2026 the trial had not begun, and there is no data on what happened after that.

Participants

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: According to N1 footage, the Gendarmerie sprayed people who were sitting on the highway, and police then detained participants in the blockade (responsible)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Užice: According to Radovan Novaković, his complaint against the police officer who injured him is being kept "in a drawer", with no proceedings of any kind (responsible)
Basic Court in Užice: It ordered Nikolić's detention in absentia while he was in hospital, even though neither a prosecutor nor a judge had questioned him (responsible)
Nenad Vujić: According to Novaković, as Minister of Justice he asked for the case against those arrested in Užice to be handled by the court president (responsible)
Aleksandar Vučić: Responding to the lawyers' strike, he said he "couldn't care less" and that they would answer for criminal offences like everyone else (commented on the case)
Zagorka Dolovac: According to the detained Novaković, she ordered that the Užice case be given to a particular prosecutor; Sinđić says the prosecutor was indeed replaced (responsible)
Administration for the Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions: According to Nikolić, who has a heart condition, he was denied medical help in the detention unit; the Administration denies this (responsible)
Serbian Bar Association: Over a lawyer's detention, it decided that lawyers would suspend work in criminal proceedings for three days (oversight and the public)
Civic Initiatives: They condemned the arrests as repressive measures, demanded the release of those held and called on the EU and the OSCE to speak out (oversight and the public)