Update
Military analyst charged over sound cannon claims, sought af...
The Ministry of Interior, acting on the order of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belg...
On the morning of 11 July 2026, writer Vladimir Arsenijević - programme director of the Krokodil festival - was attacked in central Belgrade, on the platform beneath the staircase at Branko's Bridge, where civil society organisations had planned to mark the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in which 8,372 people were killed. The event at that site, organised by groups gathered around the coalition "People remember people" (Ljudi pamte ljude), was cancelled after organisers assessed that holding it would not be safe.
Arsenijević said a group of roughly 20 to 30 people was waiting for him at the site. According to his account, they insulted and threatened him, physically assaulted him, and scrawled messages across the space set aside for the commemoration. He posted a video after the attack on his Instagram account showing injuries to his face, and was later examined at Belgrade's Emergency Centre.
Despite the attack, the wider "People remember people" programme went ahead across Belgrade and Novi Sad from 9 to 11 July, with a book presentation on the legacy of the Yugoslavia tribunal, a silent vigil by Women in Black, the "Flower that Remains" memorial installation, an evening commemoration with candles and flowers, and a standing commemoration in Novi Sad. The organisers said their action was dedicated to the victims, their families, and to a culture of remembrance, reconciliation and peace, and renewed the call for Serbian institutions to include 11 July among the dates that are officially commemorated.
Serbian state institutions do not officially commemorate the Srebrenica genocide, and senior officials have repeatedly rejected that designation, despite the rulings of international courts. In this context, peace activists and civil society organisations remain effectively the only actors keeping the memory of the victims - and the question of accountability for the crimes - present in the public space. Arsenijević, winner of the NIN Award for his novel "In the Hold" (U potpalublju) and president of the Krokodil association, said the cancellation would not stop the organisers' work on questions of remembrance.
Arsenijević said a group of roughly 20 to 30 people was waiting for him at the site. According to his account, they insulted and threatened him, physically assaulted him, and scrawled messages across the space set aside for the commemoration. He posted a video after the attack on his Instagram account showing injuries to his face, and was later examined at Belgrade's Emergency Centre.
Despite the attack, the wider "People remember people" programme went ahead across Belgrade and Novi Sad from 9 to 11 July, with a book presentation on the legacy of the Yugoslavia tribunal, a silent vigil by Women in Black, the "Flower that Remains" memorial installation, an evening commemoration with candles and flowers, and a standing commemoration in Novi Sad. The organisers said their action was dedicated to the victims, their families, and to a culture of remembrance, reconciliation and peace, and renewed the call for Serbian institutions to include 11 July among the dates that are officially commemorated.
Serbian state institutions do not officially commemorate the Srebrenica genocide, and senior officials have repeatedly rejected that designation, despite the rulings of international courts. In this context, peace activists and civil society organisations remain effectively the only actors keeping the memory of the victims - and the question of accountability for the crimes - present in the public space. Arsenijević, winner of the NIN Award for his novel "In the Hold" (U potpalublju) and president of the Krokodil association, said the cancellation would not stop the organisers' work on questions of remembrance.
