What this is
This explainer covers the events in Valjevo on the night of 14–15 August 2025 and the proceedings linked to them. N1 reported that, after the gathering began peacefully, police started pushing people back; clashes followed in the city, and footage and accounts from affected people became the subject of public dispute.
Why the events are disputed
Accounts of police conduct differ. N1 reported people seeking medical help and detentions; its early figures for detained people and injured officers were explicitly described as unofficial. Affected people and their representatives allege unlawful violence, while a complaint is not the same as responsibility established by a court.
Current procedural status
According to N1 on 22 May 2026, the legal team for affected people said 27 people filed a criminal complaint against 28 police officers on 10 October 2025. After a request for supervision, the Supreme Public Prosecutor authorised TOK to handle the case. Separately, N1 wrote on 14 August 2026 about three cases at the Valjevo Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office against 34 people suspected of attacking police. These are different procedural tracks and do not mean anyone’s guilt has been established.
What oversight bodies did
On 15 August 2025, Protector of Citizens Zoran Pašalić opened a review of the legality and regularity of the Interior Ministry, Police Directorate and Valjevo Police Administration over possible improper conduct. In October, the Interior Ministry’s Internal Control Sector said it had forwarded a submission from the local sVAnuće coalition to the Valjevo Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Police Directorate within their respective competences. Forwarding a submission is not a finding on whether force was lawful.
Why it matters
For people in Valjevo, this is more than a protest anniversary: it concerns scrutiny of police conduct, protection for detained people, and affected people’s right to an effective investigation. It is important to distinguish allegations, health-care records, Interior Ministry statements, and final prosecutorial or court decisions — they are not the same level of confirmation.
Next open question
The next material development would be a public TOK announcement on a procedural decision, charges, or discontinuance, as well as a published outcome of the Protector of Citizens’ review. No such final outcomes have been publicly reported.