Protesters Enter Pro-Vucic TV Station in Belgrade and Call for Editor's Arrest

Protesters entered a Serbian television station supportive of former President Aleksandar Vucic late on Monday, interrupting broadcasting to call for the arrest of its editor, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets for a second night of post-election celebrations.

Serbia's Student List, born out of a student-led anti-corruption protest movement, unseated Vucic in a historic election on Sunday, bringing to an end 14 years in power. The newsroom entry on Monday night was a separate event from the election result itself, and it unfolded while celebrations continued outside.

Inside the Informer TV newsroom

Live footage broadcast by Informer TV showed around 30 people walk into its newsroom on Monday evening and surround editor-in-chief and owner Dragan Vucicevic. Some protesters also called for Vucicevic's arrest.

Protesters inside the newsroom said, "This is how it is in free Serbia," and asked, "Where is Vucic now?" The footage was broadcast live by the station itself, so viewers saw the entry and the confrontation around its editor as it happened.

Calls for calm from the Student List

The leading candidate on the Student List election list, cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, called for calm in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"We ask of you to stay calm and dignified until the end of the electoral process, just like you have been until now," Srdanovic said. "Don't resort to any form of violence. Your Student List and your student movement urge you on this."

The appeal was directed at the movement's own supporters, on the same night that tens of thousands were on the streets for a second night of celebrations after Sunday's result.

Journalists' association moves on the licence

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia said in a statement that it would submit an application on Tuesday to have Informer TV's broadcasting licence revoked, citing systematic violations of law and programme obligations.

That step moves the dispute from the newsroom floor to a formal process. The association's stated ground is not the protest itself but what it describes as systematic violations of law and programme obligations by the station.

Vucic called the incident an attack on free speech and the freedom of journalism.

The two public positions now sit side by side. Vucic describes the entry into the newsroom as an attack on free speech and on journalism. The journalists' association, in its own statement, points to the station's record and says it will ask for the licence to be revoked on Tuesday. Srdanovic, whose list won the election on Sunday, has asked supporters to stay calm and dignified until the end of the electoral process and to avoid any form of violence.

What is confirmed is narrow and specific. Around 30 people entered the Informer TV newsroom on Monday evening, broadcasting was interrupted, protesters surrounded Vucicevic and some called for his arrest, and the moment was carried in live footage broadcast by the station. Outside, tens of thousands marked a second night of celebrations after the Student List ended 14 years of Vucic in power.