The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, expressed serious concerns on Friday regarding the Serbian police's handling of ongoing protests against President Aleksandar Vučić's administration. O'Flaherty highlighted the excessive use of force and random arrests, including detaining children and the hospitalization of students, as particularly alarming.

For several months, Serbia has been gripped by protests initiated by a tragic incident in November 2024, when a railway station canopy in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. This event has come to symbolize the government's broader neglect and corruption. The protests intensified recently with students and opposition groups erecting barricades at major city intersections, symbolically at the exact time of the collapse.

The response from Serbian authorities has been severe. Just this week, actions by riot police left four students in need of hospital treatment. The government's approach, which President Vučić defends as a necessary measure against what he describes as foreign-backed terrorist activities, has been widely criticized both domestically and internationally.

This escalating situation poses a significant threat to Serbia's aspirations to join the European Union. The EU has kept a close watch, and the ongoing repression could potentially tarnish Serbia's accession efforts which started back in 2012. The international community, along with local voices, continues to call for substantial electoral and institutional reforms.

As tensions persist, the international spotlight remains fixed on Serbia, awaiting the government's next move in a situation that tests the boundaries of democratic governance and human rights in the Balkan region. The unfolding events in Serbia could very well define the country's path forward, both in its internal political landscape and its external diplomatic engagements.