Scandal in Belgrade: Mayor Aleksandar Šapić accused of assaulting opposition councilor Tanja Micić and breaking her nose

A political and physical scandal shook Belgrade tonight. As the Serbian portal Nova.rs reports, the mayor of the Serbian capital, Aleksandar Šapić (SNS), is accused of physically assaulting opposition councilor Tanja Micić of the Kreni-promeni movement in the Bežanijska kosa area of New Belgrade.

The incident, also reported as breaking news by N1 and Telegraf, has triggered sharp reactions in Serbian public opinion.

According to the Kreni-promeni movement’s statement, Micić was walking with her husband and dog when she ran into Šapić, who accused her of bringing people in front of his house. Then, always according to the movement’s version, the mayor lunged at them and began hitting her husband; when she stepped between them, he struck her in the nose — “razvalio po nosu, raskrvario mi je nos” (“he smashed my nose, bloodied it”), Micić said in a video published by the movement itself, in which she appears with a bloodied nose.

Police arrived at the scene and, after an argument with the mayor, escorted him to the police car, Nova.rs reports. According to the same source, an earlier verbal clash had taken place between Šapić and Kreni-promeni leader Savo Manojlović, who asked him on camera how he could hit a woman.

The portal regionalnevesti.rs writes that in the published footage Šapić denied the accusations. According to Nova.rs’s evening headline — “Šapić pušten nakon napada na odbornicu Tanju Micić” — the Belgrade mayor was released after being taken to the police.

The Kreni-promeni movement wants to know who the duty prosecutor in this case is, while its supporters gathered tonight in front of the police station in New Belgrade. Actor Hadži Nenad Maričić also reacted with an ironic video: “Bravo, bando, bravo gradonačelniče!” (“Bravo gang, bravo mayor!”).

The incident comes amid a tense political climate in Serbia and is expected to have further consequences, as verifications and investigations into the evening’s events continue.