On March 29, during the local elections in a village near the city of Bor, masked assailants in black SUVs carried out random attacks on activists, journalists, and students. Among those severely injured was Lazar Dinic – a student, journalist for Revolt, and activist with the STAV group – who now faces surgery for a fractured sinus bone following the relentless assault. Speaking to Nova.rs, Dinic recounted how the masked men beat him until his facial bones broke, refusing to stop until he agreed to say, “Aca the president” (Aca is a common nickname for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic).
Supporters of the student-led election list who served as observers at the local elections in ten Serbian municipalities reported serious consequences from numerous attacks. Some of the most violent incidents took place in and around the town of Bor.
The Serbian public remains shaken by photos of Dinic being rushed to the hospital on Sunday, his head covered in blood, Nova.rs reported.
What happened?
Dinic was visiting polling stations in a village in the vicinity of Bor, alongside journalist Ivan Bjelic, former opposition councilor Aleksandar Kulic, and photojournalist Zorica Popovic. According to their account, everything was proceeding normally until the black SUVs appeared.
“After visiting the polling stations, we headed toward the car to return to Bor. Suddenly, several masked individuals appeared and attacked Zorica and Ivan. I saw them try to snatch Zorica’s camera, and when Ivan stepped in to help her, they started beating him too. I initially tried to film it, but Ivan warned me they would take my phone. Then, Aleksandar and I ran to the car to drive back, pick them up, and get them out of there. We pulled up and got out to help them into the car so we could escape. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it,” said Dinic, who was recently discharged from the hospital but is awaiting re-admission for sinus surgery.
As Aleksandar and Lazar stepped out of their vehicle, a second SUV arrived.
“Several more masked men jumped out. They beat Zorica and Ivan first, then started chasing me. I was terrified, I ran as fast as I could and managed to lose them – or so I thought. I headed down to the river to hide, but they tracked me down. I slipped and fell into the Timok River. They approached the bank and told me to get out and hand over my phone. I climbed out because the water wasn’t deep there.”
“I curled into a ball to endure the blows”
As Lazar emerged from the river soaking wet, he says the men began beating him mercilessly.
“I curled into a ball to better endure the blows, but soon I was covered in blood. They kept hitting me in the head and demanding I say, ‘Aca the President.’ I was in so much pain, they wouldn’t stop until I finally forced myself to say what they wanted just to make it end. I said what they demanded. They filmed the whole thing, took my phone, and left me there bleeding,” Lazar recalled.
He noted that police have detained some but not all of the attackers from Bor.
The assault left Lazar with a completely fractured sinus bone. “I am in terrible pain. Now my arms and legs hurt too, only the swelling on my head has gone down slightly,” the student said.
Local elections were held in ten municipalities across Serbia on Sunday, March 29. That day, unidentified thugs attacked a large number of citizens, students, and activists monitoring the polls. Bor appears to have seen the worst of the violence. Beyond the random attacks from black SUVs, eyewitnesses claim that the building of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO) served as a staging ground for dozens of ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) thugs. According to these reports, they emerged from the building in coordinated waves throughout the day to physically clash with the politically unlike-minded.
Numerous citizens sustained serious injuries and were hospitalized, among them Lazar Dinic.
Source: N1
