Lazar Dinić: They beat me until they broke the bones in my head, and I did not agree to say that "Aca is the president."

Three days have passed since the local elections in 10 municipalities in Serbia. Those who supported the student list and served as observers have suffered serious consequences from numerous attacks in certain places. Some of the most severe incidents occurred in Bor and its surroundings.

The public in Serbia will remember the images of Lazar Dinić, who was urgently hospitalized on Sunday with a bloody head, writes Nova.rs.

What happened?

He was visiting polling places in the village of Šarbanovci near Bor with journalist Ivan Bjelić, as well as opposition council member from the previous term, Aleksandar Kulić, and photojournalist Zorica Popović. Everything was going smoothly until the appearance of black SUVs.

“After visiting the polling places, we headed back to our cars to return to Bor. However, several unknown individuals wearing masks appeared and attacked Zorica and Ivan. I saw them trying to snatch Zorica’s camera, and when Ivan approached to help her, they began to beat him as well. I initially started filming, but Ivan warned me that they would take my phone. Then Aleksandar and I ran to the car to return for them and rescue them. We parked the car beside them and got out to help them get in so we could escape. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed,” recounts Dinić, who was recently discharged from the hospital but is preparing for another hospitalization due to surgery on his sinus bone in maxillofacial surgery in Belgrade.

When Aleksandar and Lazar got out of the car, another SUV appeared.

“Several more masked individuals emerged from it; they first beat Zorica and Ivan, and then began to chase me. I was terrified, running as fast as I could, and I managed to escape — or at least I thought I did. I went down to the river to hide, but they followed me and found me. I slipped and fell into the Timok. They then approached the shore and told me to come out and hand over my phone. I managed to get out because the water wasn’t deep there.”

"I curled up to endure the blows more easily"

When Lazar emerged from the river, soaked, they began to beat him relentlessly, as he recalls.

“I curled up to endure the blows more easily, but soon I was covered in blood. They hit me in the head and demanded that I say ‘Aca is the president.’ I was in so much pain that they didn’t stop until I forced myself to say what they wanted, hoping they would stop. I said what they asked of me. They recorded everything and then left with my phone, leaving me bloodied,” recalls Lazar, who is currently in Bor.

He emphasizes that the police have since apprehended several attackers from Bor, but not all of them.

After the beating, Lazar sustained a complete fracture of the sinus bone.

“I have terrible pain, and now my arms and legs hurt too; the swelling on my head has just slightly subsided,” says this student.

To remind, local elections took place on Sunday, March 29, in 10 municipalities in Serbia. On that day, unknown assailants attacked numerous citizens, students, and activists who were monitoring the polling places. However, it seems that Bor was the worst affected. In addition to randomly emerging from black SUVs and attacking citizens, according to eyewitness accounts, the PIO Fund building was a hub for dozens of SNS thugs, who orchestrated their exits from that building multiple times throughout the day and engaged in physical confrontations with dissenters.

Numerous citizens suffered serious bodily injuries and ended up in the hospital, including Lazar Dinić.

The text is taken from the portal N1.