Serbia’s Vucic Pardons ‘Novi Sad 12’ as ‘Act of Mercy’ Before Resigning

President Vucic addressing supporters during a gathering in Belgrade ahead of his resignation, 27 September 2026. Photo: EPA/DIMITRIJE GOLL. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday said he had pardoned 12 anti-government activists from the city of Novi Sad who are on trial for allegedly preparing “acts against the constitutional order”, in one of his final decisions as President as he announced his resignation before next month’s elections. Vucic said he had pardoned a total of 49 people, including 23 who are connected to what he called “all these terrible events over the past year and a half” – a reference to mass student-led protests that have shaken his government – including the so-called ‘Novi Sad 12’. “I made the decision to pardon 12 people from the Novi Sad group led by [activist] Mila Pajic, just as I decided to pardon 11 people who, on the other [pro-government] side, took part in incidents against protesters involved in the blockades,” Vucic said in a speech in Belgrade before submitting his resignation. He described the decision as an “act of mercy because of their age, not because they are not guilty of something or did not do something. I did so because I know they would have been sentenced to several years in prison in any country, in any other country in the world. And I want to protect every young person because I believe there is hope that they will change and behave much more responsibly in the future,” Vucic said. He said he had made the decision despite advice from the security services. The 12 activists, linked to the opposition Free Citizens Movement, PSG, and the activist group Students Against Authoritarian Rule, STAV, were charged with preparing acts against Serbia’s constitutional order and security. The charges arose from a recording of the meeting between the indictees ahead of a March 2025 rally that became the largest in Serbian history. Six of them spent more than seven months in detention and house arrest before being released to defend themselves at liberty. The other six were outside Serbia when the arrests took place and have remained abroad, with proceedings against them conducted in absentia. One of the six activists in exile, Doroteja Antic, told BIRN that none of them wanted the case to end with a pardon from Vucic, who she claimed was again using the group “for his own political purposes, to score political points”. “He did not do this out of kindness but solely because it is politically advantageous for him at this moment. And this is the final proof that the case was fabricated and politically constructed from the very beginning, and that there was never really a case at all,” Antic said. She acknowledged that this should end the court proceedings being conducted against the 12 activists. “We are now waiting for the final confirmation and official notices from the court that the proceedings have been discontinued, but that is expected to happen soon, at least according to our lawyers,” Antic explained. However, she said that her plan is to remain outside Serbia while Vucic remains in power, to ensure she is safe. “My plan is to stay here at least until the elections, in the great hope that after October 25 we will all meet again in a free Serbia, because this really feels like the final moment, the last gasp and cry of a government that people have long wanted to see the back of,” she said.