Patrons and caterers at a restaurant in downtown Belgrade, where Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali was present, chanted “long live students,” prompting the minister to respond with a middle finger gesture.

Shortly afterward, a journalist who happened to be at the restaurant approached Mali to inquire about his actions, but instead of responding, he grabbed her phone, as reported by N1.

Journalist Danica Ilić, alongside a friend, was dining in the same establishment as Mali on Saturday.

She informed N1 that as the minister settled his bill and prepared to leave, the entire restaurant erupted in chants of “long live students.”

“Guests I spoke with later mentioned that as he exited, the minister gave the middle finger to everyone who was chanting ‘long live the students’,” Ilić shared with N1.

“We spotted Minister Mali in the restaurant, and as we were leaving, we applauded and joined in the chant ‘long live the students,’ to which the entire restaurant responded. During his exit, Siniša showed us the middle finger, which was notably not painted red,” recounted one of the guests to journalist Ilić.

As per her account, when Mali was leaving, a journalist approached him, identified herself, and requested a statement. However, instead of responding, the minister forcibly took her phone.

“He aggressively took the phone from my grasp. I followed him outside. He questioned why I was recording him and insisted I wanted to talk. I pointed out that they had just shouted ‘long live the students’, and that he had responded with a middle finger. I reminded him that he is a public official in a public space, meaning I had the right to ask about the situation. While we walked down the street, he held my phone, and after discussing the definitions of public office and journalism, he eventually placed my phone on a flower pot,” Ilić recounted.

News