Coup moment: Serbia complained about an attempted rebellion at the behest of the West
A scandal broke out in Serbia between the president and the country's chief special prosecutor Mladen Nenadic. Aleksandar Vucic accused him of carrying out "arrests at the behest of the Europeans." As a result, a dozen high-ranking officials, including the ex-Minister of Construction and Infrastructure, were detained. The special prosecutor's office suspects them of fraud in the amount of $ 115 million. The Head of State is confident: This is a conspiracy aimed at forcing the authorities to announce early elections, which have been demanded by protesting students for nine months. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
A serious situation
"We have experienced numerous crises: from floods, coronavirus, immigration flows, the war in Ukraine, provocations in Kosovo, attacks on Srebrenica to everything else. But never since 2008 has Serbia been in such a difficult situation as it is now," President Aleksandar Vucic said after an urgent meeting of the Security Council.
Protest of ethnic Serbs in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo against Albanian mayors who took up positions in municipalities, May 31, 2023
Local media fueled public interest in the meeting: on the eve of the meeting, they announced that "at the behest of the West, a coup attempt has been launched in Serbia, involving employees of the special Prosecutor's Office for combating organized crime and some police units."
The Head of State also stressed that the country was facing an emergency situation. The day before, he accused the head of the special Prosecutor's office for combating organized crime, Mladen Nenadic, of "making scandalous arrests in the country at the behest of the Europeans."
On August 1, the Special Prosecutor's Office ordered the arrest of 11 high-ranking officials and heads of state-owned enterprises, including former Minister of Construction and Infrastructure Tomislav Momirovich. They are suspected of fraud in the amount of $115 million during the reconstruction of the station in Novi Sad, after which a concrete canopy collapsed last November and 16 people, including children, died.
Mass student anti-government protest caused by the tragedy in Novi Sad, March 15, 2025
The Serbian leader is confident that with these arrests the special prosecutor's office is trying to force the authorities to hold early elections. Protesting students insist on them, who have not stopped rallies for nine months after the tragedy in Novi Sad.
At first, the demonstrators demanded that the perpetrators be prosecuted, but then they began to make political demands, in particular, they insist on a change of government. She has been held in the country for 13 years by the pro-presidential Serbian Progressive Party led by Aleksandar Vucic.
The President addressed the people
After the meeting of the Security Council, President Aleksandar Vucic addressed the nation. In his speech, he called the arrests carried out by the special prosecutor's office scandalous and promised to arrange criminal prosecution for the organizers.
In addition, the head of state stated that he would also bring to justice the organizers of the protest rally that took place on March 15 for the attempted coup.
In mid-March, Serbia hosted the largest rally in the last decade. According to various sources, from 100 thousand to 300 thousand people participated in it. Under pressure from the protesters, then Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned. He explained his decision with responsibility for what had happened.
In the country, about 59% of citizens support student protests, such data is provided by the Belgrade CRTA Research Center. The majority of the opposition parties are also on the side of the protesting youth.
Serbian Prime Minister Juro Matsut and new cabinet members pose for a group photo after taking the oath of office at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, April 16, 2025
Serbian authorities are opposed to the students' demands. As Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic explained, there is no reason to hold an early vote, since the government has a stable majority in parliament.
Thus, according to Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic, in the current situation, the head of the special Prosecutor's Office for combating organized crime, Mladen Nenadic, carried out the arrests "in agreement with the Europeans." The President is confident that these arrests, as well as demands for early elections from the protesters, only lead to destabilization of the situation.
The Special Prosecutor's office did not respond to Vucic's words and threats. After questioning the detainees, the prosecution demanded an extension of their arrest.
What do the experts think
Milan Lazovich, Program Manager of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), stated the seriousness of the situation in Serbia in an interview with Izvestia.
— President Aleksandar Vucic is trying to point out external interference and attempts to sway the situation inside the country, so appropriate measures are being taken. The situation is twofold: on the one hand, these attempts are obviously taking place, on the other, there is a large—scale level of corruption, which the population is dissatisfied with," the political scientist explained.
Oleg Bondarenko, editor-in-chief of the Balkanist project, believes that the Serbian authorities should not have allowed Western non-governmental organizations to "penetrate so deeply into the body of the Serbian state."
— It should not be surprising now that at some point it suddenly turns out that many branches of government, many state institutions in Serbia have dual subordination. In addition to the Serbian executive branch itself, they are subordinate to various foundations, grant programs, and government organizations and institutions in the West," the expert said in an interview with Izvestia.
According to him, they have been investing resources for decades, educating a new elite in Serbia, in fact creating a new power structure in the country.
— I am sure that not only in law enforcement agencies there is such a double subordination, it exists primarily in the humanitarian sphere, in the Ministry of Culture, in other organizations that manage information, — the specialist explained.
The analyst added that this kind of "double subordination" permeates all government institutions, not only in Belgrade, but also locally.
"And of course, we should have fought this octopus much earlier and tried to create our own similar power structure, because this is really a threat to the sovereignty of any country," the political scientist summed up.
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