Bojan Pajtic, a professor at the Faculty of Law in Novi Sad, former president of Vojvodina’s provincial government, and ex-leader of the Democratic Party, spoke on N1’s Pressing about the current situation in Serbia amidst ongoing student blockades and protests. Pajtic described the ruling regime as highly mafia-like, emphasizing that corruption has begun taking lives.

Pajtic was asked to describe what is happening in Serbia.

“The Serbian ruling regime is highly mafia-like and deeply corrupt. Corruption has started killing people in Serbia. Previously, there were fatalities linked in one way or another to individuals at the top of the SNS. This culminated in the tragedy at Ribnikar Elementary School and in the villages near Mladenovac, where the regime failed to prevent a known violent individual from using firearms,” Pajtic said.

“This is the peak of all protests that have shaken Serbia in recent years, including those over blatant election fraud. Theft and lawlessness can cost lives,” he added.

Embezzlement up to 500%

Pajtic highlighted the extravagant spending on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station canopy.

“Vucic’s regime spent €60.5 million on reconstruction, with €50 million allocated to the building and several platforms. To illustrate, this amount could build 40 five-story buildings. They now embezzle 400-500% of every project’s budget. What enrages citizens the most is that a supervisor warned that the canopy’s collapse was inevitable, only a matter of time. The regime ignored three such warnings because they were focused on profiteering from two reconstructions within four years,” Pajtic explained.

He further accused Milos Vucevic of failing to oversee construction inspections properly and linked Aleksandar Vucic to criminal accountability.

“Vucic bears criminal responsibility because Jelena Tanaskovic directly implicated both him and Vesic as the instigators. The criminal accountability lies at the very top of the state, and this is why young people are protesting—they don’t want to live in such a country,” he asserted.

Calls for legal accountability

Pajtic argued that in a state governed by the rule of law, Vucic would already be charged.

“In a lawful state, Vucic would be indicted for incitement to criminal acts, even attempted murder. For instance, when a driver carried a 70-year-old man on his car hood, Vucic claimed it was the driver’s right to pass. Similar incidents have occurred involving students and musicians from the Belgrade Philharmonic—people were hit by cars because the president encouraged such actions,” Pajtic stated.

He added that many perpetrators of crimes are connected to the state’s leadership and the SNS regime.

“Numerous individuals tied to the regime and Milorad Dodik’s circle benefit directly from SNS rule. One of the groups that attacked students is linked to the drug trade. The regime is connected to various criminal organizations. Just days ago, a public transport director in Novi Sad was arrested for cocaine trafficking. Often, individuals holding state functions are key figures in drug cartels,” Pajtic concluded.