"Violence will still be carried out", echoed through the garage of the Government of the Republic of Serbia building. The warm night of August 14-15, 2025 exposed the regime, and pictures of bruised students and citizens who were tortured and beaten went around the world. There, on the ground floor - the garage of the Government of Serbia, above which is the workplace of the prime minister of this country, Đur Matsut, and the offices of his vice-presidents and individual ministers, a night of torture took place.
Creepy threats, beatings, destruction of the phones and personal belongings of the kidnapped students, according to the testimonies of the interlocutors of the weekly "Vreme", were carried out by the notorious part of the police JZO (Unit for the Security of Certain Persons and Facilities) and its commander Marko Krichak.
Students and citizens were first hunted on every corner, square, street. Dozens of men in plainclothes, tight-fitting shirts and tattoos, mostly without visible police markings, targeted those returning home after the protest late Thursday night. They didn't run away because they thought they had no reason to - they peacefully passed through the streets in smaller groups. They would immediately throw them to the ground, trip them, kick them. Whoever they found in Slavia, they would put them in unmarked cars and drive them to the Government of Serbia, and if they were caught in Kneza Miloša Street, the central street of the capital, they would literally drag them on the asphalt for a few minutes to the Government building in Nemanjina.
Then they dragged all those caught to the garage. To get there, each of them had to pass by the place where the then Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was killed in March 2003. In that place, traces of bullets fired at Đindjić by members of the notorious JSO police unit at the time, led by Milorad Ulemek Legija and associated with criminals from the Zemun clan, are still visible in the wall.
For those who may not remember, because they were just born or just learning to walk when Djindjic was killed, and now they are victims of torture, on the day of the assassination, the garage in the Government of Serbia was not working. Right then, someone decided to renovate it, so the car had to park right at the entrance to the building, which the assassin aimed through the sniper's eyepiece.
The connections between the Zemun clan and those who were ruling as well as opposition politicians were never fully clarified. There was also speculation about the clan's contacts with the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, Vojislav Šešelja, and today the same radical leader is "educating" the police through the regime's newspapers.
"I understand the police who won't lay a hand on the woman, but should kick them," said Seselj. And should they go unpunished? Those little bitches who keep showing the middle finger.” Whether inspired by Seselja, by serving the regime or by their own madness, a group of policemen soon used their hands and feet and insults and threats to torture women, and that no less than in the institutional seat of the state.
Photo: Tadic raw…and arresting young people
"TO ROPE YOU IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, EVERYONE WILL WATCH IT"
The students, among whom was Nikolina Sinđelić, as well as several citizens, were dragged across the site of the assassination of the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Serbia through a gray corridor and dragged into the garage - the place of torture. There were blows, skin on skin, flesh on flesh, bone on bone, breaking and roaring:
"Whore, you filmed us?"; "You should ask me to stop beating you"; "Now I'm going to fuck you, rape you in front of everyone, everyone will watch"...
These are the words that, as the student of the Faculty of Political Sciences, Nikolina Sinđelić, testifies, she was personally addressed by the commander of the JZO Marko Krichak.
Nikolina explained how everything happened.
"I was in Knez Miloš, my colleague and I were in the presence of NPS president Miroslav Aleksić and NPS deputy. After we parted ways, Stevan Zdravković, I and another friend went home, we were going down Nemanjina, where at that time members of the Public Health Service, the police and many masked men were coming out of the government garage. They rushed out, started to beat people with batons, telescopic batons... They were mostly in civilian clothes, no one in uniform," she said.
She adds that she did not know that Stevan had been detained.
"When they led us into the garage, we saw each other, behind those bars, they threw us all on the floor, we had to lie on the floor, they lined us up like criminals, some of them had ties and handcuffs, we had to look at the floor. After a few moments, the commander of the JZO Marko Krichak appeared. First of all, we had to throw everything out of the bags, where I experienced discomfort, I think that's why they started using violence, because in my bag there was the camera was turned off, but when it turned on, the red light came on to show that it was empty. Then they called me 'whore, you were filming us', they broke my colleagues' phones, they took it from me and went to the van. My phone was cut in half, and they said that I would never see it again," she continues.
The main thing in all of this, she states, is that "Marko Krichak slapped her and hit her head against the wall".
"He said that he was going to undress me and rape me in front of everyone, that everyone would see it, I was visibly furious, he said 'you need to ask me to stop beating you', and he told the boy that the violence would only follow. I answered him, I didn't want to be silent, he was more and more violent. We spent three hours in that garage, then they took us to the station in Majke Evrosime. When they put everyone in the van, they said to stay outside. I was afraid to stay alone with Krichko, I begged the police officer not to leave me with him, he helped me, I really think he saved me. They offered me help, asked if I should go to the doctor," she says.
Nikolina further states that they were at the Majke Jevrosima station for two hours, and that she stayed 20 or 30 minutes longer than the other colleagues.
"Various policemen and information about the prosecution were changing, and when I mentioned that I would call a lawyer who is also a member of the NPS, they completely changed their behavior, they said that there was no need for me to call anyone," says Sinđelić.
After the all-night torture, they wrote Nikolina a fine for the torch that was found in her backpack. As she says, she no longer had the strength to explain to them that the torch did not belong to her either.
Did Nikolina in any way provoke the police to arrest her that night?
According to her, shortly before she was abducted from the street, she verbally confronted a group of thugs who arrested the minor. Krichak was among them. Nikolina shouted at them, and the recording of that event is also available on social networks.
"Leave him alone, he is a minor," she shouted. Then, as she says, one of the members of the JZO approached her and said in her ear: "You didn't need this."
"SECURITY PROTECTION"
photo: printscreenSYMBOLS OF VIOLENCE: Arrested students at the police station...
Because of Nikolina Sinđelić's public testimony, the MUP sent a denial to the media less than an hour later. The Ministry of Internal Affairs "strongly denies the allegations that appeared today in certain media and on social networks about the alleged mistreatment of Nikolina Sinđelić" in the Government building of the Republic of Serbia, stressing that "the police acted in accordance with the law, and they were brought into the Government building solely to protect their safety", they state.
Namely, Nikolina Sinđelić (22) from Obrenovac, a member of the Mladi Borba movement, together with SZ (25) from Niš, DC (26) from Belgrade, Đ. K. (41) from Belgrade, Đ. M. (24) from Požarevac and RN (26) from Belgrade, late last night, August 14, 2025, around 23 p.m. at the corner of Kneza Miloša and Nemanjina streets public assembly and blocking of traffic", claim the MUP.
"(The group) then threw stones, glass bottles and torches at police officers and the Government of the Republic of Serbia building at Nemanja 11. The police brought these people into the Government building solely for their protection, until an official vehicle arrived to pick them up and transport them to the Stari Grad Police Station for further processing," they added. According to the MUP, a torch was found at Nikolina Sinđelić's home. "Around 01.30:XNUMX a.m., the mentioned persons were brought to the Stari grad police station by police vehicle, the duty prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade was immediately contacted, who stated that there were no elements of a criminal offense, as well as the duty magistrate for misdemeanors, who ordered that misdemeanor charges be filed against all persons in the regular procedure for a misdemeanor from the Law on Public Order and Peace," they added.
At 03.00:XNUMX these people were released from the police station, says the MUP.
"During the entire procedure, there was no use of coercion, tying, insults or any kind of mistreatment. All police actions were carried out in accordance with the law and solely for the purpose of protecting public order, peace and safety of participants and citizens. The Ministry of Internal Affairs calls on all media to publish only verified information and to refrain from spreading falsehoods that damage the reputation of state authorities and mislead the public," they conclude.
The denial actually only confirmed the sequence and timetable of events. And after Nikolina, more and more witnesses started contacting the media and confirming the story of the harassed student.
"I'LL SHOOT YOU IN THE HEAD."
Nikolina's colleague Stevan Zdravković listened to the blows and threats she received. As he says, he did not immediately recognize Krichko, but he realized that all the other police officers in the room were listening to that man and that he was the one issuing the orders.
"Our position at that moment is extremely similar, we were at a distance of 2-3 meters, I saw the Gendarmerie retreating from Slavia and we started to move towards the Stefan Nemanja Monument. We go down, 30-40 policemen jump out, we don't know it at that moment, they run out, I start to run, they trip me, I fall, I'm skinned, but as some have passed, I'm golden. They catch us, laces on my hands, I say I didn't do anything, they don't care, they drag us in. I understand that it was ordered by them, they bring us into the garage, we lived the same, we were just at different ends of that garage", he says.
Zdravković also states that they were on the floor.
"Looking down, we mustn't move our heads by accident so as not to see something illegal, they immediately broke the phones, some were broken with a baton, Nikolina's with her hand, and mine with her foot against the wall", he says and states that it was a "traumatic experience". He pointed out "the fearlessness shown by the colleague".
Physics student Dušan Cvetković, who was detained after the protest on Thursday, said that one of the police officers threatened to "shoot him in the head".
"I was taken into custody a little later. I was in Slavia, after the intervention of the police, when the cordons were cleared, I was standing with my younger brother and his friend, we were talking, suddenly a car with a rotary came rushing by, behind them an unmarked police car. My brother and his friend were smarter, they ran away, I was young and stupid and I thought that nothing would happen to me because I was doing nothing, I was standing still and looking at the phone," he says.
He adds that "a tall young policeman, with a badge under his shirt, picked him up and threw him on the concrete": "Five more came running, they started to trample me, to trample my head on the concrete, that fascist boot. I wanted to keep the phone, to have some contact with the outside world, they kicked my hand, I dropped the phone, they took my phone," says Cvetković.
It was the same unit with which FPN students Nikolina Sinđelić and Stevan Zdravković had contact.
"In the end, I also had an experience with Marko Krichka, the young men who took me in, I didn't immediately connect with him. One asked me if you were going to overthrow the state, and the other held his hands on his head, he could barely contain his anger, he said 'I'll shoot you in the head', I was already a little scared. When we were going to that garage, the basement, we stopped next to a person who I later recognized as Krichka, a man parading a badge around him, not knowing who he was, I appealed to him, look at what your colleagues are doing, you have a badge, please tell me where they are taking me. They brought me to the Government, pulled me out of the car, I appealed to everyone, look what your colleagues are doing," he says.
He also states that they "threw him into the basement face down, with a few students who had their hands behind their backs": "I talked a lot, maybe that's why they put handcuffs on me. I recognized the one who beat me by his boots - I was fighting, he beat me - he asked me if I wanted to beat you and now, I said 'no, thank you'. We spent two hours there, when most of them left, three people remained - one woman and two men. In in these situations, we grasp at the smallest drop of kindness that someone gives us, they pretended to be nice, offered us water, joked, I don't believe that they are appropriate jokes, that mask comes off very quickly. When Nikolina told that man that they threatened her with rape, called her a whore, threatened her with other grotesque acts, that man smiled and rolled his eyes, she also appealed to the woman with the badge, and she smiled, I talked to that woman, she she said, you must have provoked them, he said "I was standing still, she answered - 'Well, well...'," he says.
He further states that when the police officer came, he "got to know Marko Kričko more intimately".
"He came up to me, asked me what I was doing at the protest, I answered 'civil rights', he didn't like that answer, he slapped me, he and another one without a badge dragged me around the corner and slapped me pretty hard all the time", he says. "In Mike Jevrosim, they were wonderful compared to those who were in the Government garage. When Krichak appears, these other policemen must not whisper, they are afraid of him, imagine what it will be like for us", he says.
AND FOREIGN CITIZENS ENDED UP IN THE GARAGE OF THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
"There was a savage atmosphere in the building in Nemanjina. The policemen were shouting, there was a girl who, as my friend told me, was threatened to be raped in front of everyone. If someone had done that to my sister, I don't know what I would have done. Then all the rules would cease to apply," Alessio Laterza, an Italian IT expert who has been living and working in Belgrade for three years, told the weekly "Radar".
Last Thursday, while returning home with a friend and colleague, JZO arrested him on the street, near the Church of St. Sava, around midnight, and took him to the now infamous garage of the Government of Serbia, where he, like dozens of mostly younger Belgraders, was tortured.
After the kidnapping, Laterza was detained on the street most of the time without water or food, he told "Radar". No one explained to him why he was arrested, nor was he allowed to contact the embassy or a lawyer. When he told the officers that it was his right, he was told that what was happening to him was not an American movie.
"I was walking with my Serbian friend and colleague, returning home after the cinema, and we were both arrested in the same place at the same time. I was apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. When we were crossing Slavija and heading towards the Church of Saint Sava, the police were charging people, closing that part of the city. We were walking through the park trying to bypass the main event, because the situation was very tense. We didn't realize that the police were parked there to arrest people who were protesting and I was the first to be arrested in that action. I saw that one of the policemen was ready to beat me and then they took me to the building (garage) in Nemanja street, who was threatened to be raped in front of everyone hit, because such things are truly unacceptable and unimaginable. One policeman yelled at me and told me to keep my head down," says Laterza.
REVENGE PORNOGRAPHY AS A CONTINUATION OF POLICE TORTURE
Just a few hours after getting out of the government garage and the police station, Nikolina told the media what happened to her. Soon, photos began to circulate on social networks in which the regime's bots, as well as the former state secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, tried to discredit her.
The students in the blockade published a statement stating that, after their colleague Nikolina spoke publicly about the police violence of Marko Kričko, intimate photos appeared on social networks.
"The distribution of these photos was initiated by Dijana Hrkalović, the former state secretary of the MUP", they state. It is pointed out that "at the time the photos were taken, Nikolina was a minor. The person who was originally entrusted with them abused her trust and shared them further. This is a classic and terrible example of revenge pornography - the abuse of a woman's privacy to show power and control, five years after the trauma she had already suffered," they wrote in the announcement.
It is also emphasized that this is not the first time that these photos have been shared. "Due to her activism against the regime, the colleague was already going through retraumatization by sharing these same photos, with the aim of being intimidated. She didn't give in then - and she won't now," they said.
In the announcement, they said that "Nikolina has nothing to be ashamed of. Shame on those who decided to use private pictures as a weapon."
They also said that "Nikolina is not a symbol of their power - she is proof of their powerlessness".
"Because they cannot silence her, they try to break her. Because they failed to intimidate her, they try to humiliate her. But they fail. Their violence says nothing about her, it says everything about them. The bullies have been exposed. It is the bullies who are without dignity," they wrote in the post.
"NIKOLINA WE ALL ARE, WE ARE NOT AFRAID"
photo: муп...and the head of the JZO Marko Krichak
In Belgrade, citizens gathered in front of the JZO headquarters, and then in front of the Government, in support of FPN student Nikolina Sinđelić.
The protest was organized by the women of the choir from the Cerak neighborhood in Belgrade. The student Sinđelić told the Beta agency that she is ready to go outside the borders of Serbia with the process against Kričko and that she will do her best to prevent this from happening to anyone again.
"Criminal charges have not been filed yet, as expert examinations and examinations are still ongoing, and it will take a few more days to complete everything," she said.
The legal team that will represent the FPN student is collecting the elements for filing a criminal complaint against the commander of the JZO and other members of that unit.
The gathered people went from Mostarska petlje to the JZO building, but they could not go further from the members of that unit who were protecting the entrance. Uniformed policewomen, several of them, were stationed to guard the entrance to the notorious unit with their heads lowered and their lips tightly pursed.
The protest continued in front of the Government of Serbia building, where 16 minutes of silence was held for the victims of the fall of the canopy, and then representatives of the citizens submitted an official request for the dismissal of the commander of the JZO.
Those gathered at the protest carried the banners "Who protects us from the police", "Violence against women is a crime of the state", "Let women's anger burn", "Women have a place in the revolution", and at the head of the column was the inscription "We are all Nikolina, we are not afraid".
At the time this text goes to press (Tuesday evening), similar protests are being announced all over Serbia.
