There have been serious clashes in Belgrade, #Serbia. Protesters stormed the parliament building and have been clashing with police.

Read more about it here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-serbia-protests/demonstrators-storm-serbian-parliament-in-protest-over-lockdown-idUSKBN24835R

The clashes are being framed as “anti-Coronavirus lockdown” protests, but from what I understand speaking to Serbian friends it’s a bit more complicated than that. Seems that eveyone has long been sick of the government’s soft dictator-like ways and now they’ve had enough.

People are essentially stretching their legs and asserting their anger at the state. I’m told eveyone from far-left to far-right is involved in clashes. Police response has been very heavy.

The moment protesters in #Serbia pushed past police and stormed the parliament building last night.

Police beating the shit out of people in Belgrade, #Serbia again tonight. Second night of anti-government protests.

Getting quite a few messages from Serbs saying I should go to cover the clashes. Yes, if this carries on I will definitely head out to Belgrade to cover it on the ground. We'll make a doc for Popular Front. Just give it a week or so. http://www.popularfront.co 

After the lads sat on a bench got beaten by police for sitting down (see further up the thread) they went back to the bench to sit down again lol. Legends.

Clashes all over the city. https://twitter.com/potempkinbrain/status/1280969140543635456?s=21 https://twitter.com/PotempkinBrain/status/1280969140543635456

In regards to the protests in #Serbia. https://twitter.com/hornierm/status/1280771844254171136?s=21 https://twitter.com/hornierm/status/1280771844254171136

Decent article here about the protests in #Serbia. No, they are no “covid19 riots”. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/world/europe/serbia-protests-coronavirus.html#click=https://t.co/8s0f3FHAPi

Serbian state owned media is already starting conspiracy theory bullshit, saying that the anti-government protests are actually a plot by Ukrainian and Kyrgyzstan spies sent via Israel .

Clashes last night in Belgrade. You can really see how angry people are here.

(: Ed Godsell)

Some very interesting scenes in #Serbia last night—some protesters turning on the more violent ones, kicking them out from the front and apparently some are accusing them of being provocateurs.

(: Ed Godsell)

Good thread documenting the anti-government clashes in Serbia. https://twitter.com/icydora/status/1281163014016770048?s=21 https://twitter.com/icydora/status/1281163014016770048

#Serbia’s prime minister Ana Brnabić has said police didn’t fire any tear gas the other night...

Watch this.

Mass arrests all over #Belgrade last night. Tons of undercover police causing shit too. This is not a conspiracy. The government is doing everything it can to disrupt the protests, using the same authoritarian tactics the people are protesting against.

Serbs are built out of rocks and nails I’m sure.

Serbian special police commandeering an ambulance last night. The priest says jokingly “The cops are beating you and the cops are curing you.”

Riot police in Serbia. This is what the people are dealing with.

She’s telling the police to surrender, barks at them, then says she been hit in the head with a police helmet and that they arrested her friend for no reason.

Lots of sloppy reporting from mainstream news when it comes to events in #Serbia.

The clashes are NOT anti-Coronavirus lockdown, they are against the steady creep of authoritarianism from the government who’ve used the coronavirus as a means to orchestrate election control.