Riot police clash with right-wing protesters at Pride march in Serbia
metro.co.uksupports HTML5 videoRiot police clashed with right-wing protestors at a Pride march in Serbia.Officers were injured as they tried to break up two groups that were disrupting the march to mark the end of EuroPride week in Belgrade.Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said 10 cops were ‘slightly’ injured, five police cars were damaged and 64 protestors had been arrested.Brnabi – who is Serbia’s first gay Prime Minister – said ‘I am very proud that we managed to avoid more serious incidents.’Following protests by nationalists and religious groups, the government had banned the march last week.But faced with calls by European Union officials and human rights activists, it allowed a shortened route for the march.Labour absolutely thrashes Tories in latest YouGov poll with biggest ever leadShakira ordered to stand trial in Spain over tax fraud caseChildren 'served raw chicken' but school insists it's just meat near the boneThose participating walked several hundred metres to the Tsmajdan stadium where a concert took place.The United States’ ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, and the European parliament’s special rapporteur for Serbia, Vladimir Bilcik, joined the march.Previous Serbian governments have banned Pride parades, drawing criticism from human rights groups and others.
MORE : Trans man dies after brutal beating at Germany pride event put him in a coma Some Pride marches in the early 2000s met with fierce opposition and were marred by violence.But recent Pride marches in Serbia have passed off peacefully, a change cited by EuroPride organisers as one reason Belgrade was chosen as this year’s host.
