STA, 6 October 2021 - Police made several arrests during Tuesday's riots in Ljubljana, including the protest organiser Zoran Stevanović and the rapper Zlatko, one of the mainstays of anti-government rallies, according to media reports.
The arrest of Stevanović was confirmed by his party, Resni.ca, which said last evening he had been taken into custody.
The rapper Zlatko was apprehended in front of the cameras after urging the crowd to start marching around the city.
Police would not confirm the identities of those arrested beyond Danijel Lorbek, the head of the Ljubljana Police Directorate, saying that three people have been apprehended on suspicion of criminal activity and several more due to violations of the act on the police.
Lorbek told TV Slovenija last night that the crowd initially numbered around 3,000 and was joined by more people as the march around the city began.
He said police had used "the whole palette of coercive means," from the cavalry to dogs, a water cannon and tear gas.
According to Lorbek, there are indications a fresh protest will be held on Wednesday.
Yesterday's rally devolved into rioting around the centre of Ljubljana as hundreds of riot police appear to have tried to prevent the crowd from blocking main thoroughfares like they did last week.
The rioting went on for several hours. By nightfall, only small groups of protesters remained in the city centre and by 9pm the crowd had been dispersed and "order established," police said today.
According to the police statement, six officers had sustained minor injuries and two protesters required medical assistance due to inhalation of tear gas.
