Thousands protest in Serbia alleging election fraud by governing party
Al JazeeraJUL 2023
Serbian Opposition Leader Says He Was Beaten by Secret Service
The Spin
Narrative A
The reprehensible abduction and abuse of Nikola Sandulović demonstrates the autocratic and oppressive nature of the Vucic regime. While the government accuses Sandulović of promoting unrest by simply posting a video of a Kosovan leader’s grave, Sandulović’s real "crime" is his criticism of Vucic. The Serbian government clearly has no qualms about abusing political dissidents, and the actions taken against Sandulović show that the Vucic regime doesn’t value democracy at all.
Narrative B
Nikola Sandulović is a politician who has no support from the Serbian people or its government, so he's now making up lies to undermine Serbian society and promote ethnic tension. There's no evidence that suggests that intelligence agents beat Sandulović, and he is trying to gain Western sympathy by running a smear campaign against Pres. Vucic and his government. Perhaps Sandulović should try to win over the Serbian people instead of making up lies to sow discord in Serbian politics.