NOT ONLY A STUDENT, BUT ALSO A PILLAR OF THE FAMILY: Andrej Tanko works and takes care of his sick grandfather and mother, arrested the day before the exam! (VIDEO)

Andrej Tanko, a student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, was arrested this morning in Pančevo and was ordered to be detained for 48 hours. The police charge him with assaulting an official during the protest on August 13 in front of the “Katarka” restaurant, when, according to the accusations, he sprayed police officers with a liquid of unknown chemical composition and tried to take their shields.

Andrej Tanko, an ETF student and valedictorian, not only makes time for his studies but also works to help his family, taking care of his sick grandfather and mother. He was supposed to take an exam tomorrow, but he was arrested and ordered into detention.

During the protest, Tanko became known for his calm demeanor in a situation where one of the opponents of the blockade aggressively approached and provoked him. His calm response became a symbol of resistance to violence and violent reactions during the protest.

Snimak hapsenja Andreja Tanke iz Panceva, studenta ETF.
Protest danas u 17h ispred PU Pancevo… pic.twitter.com/bcnJgYhyYh
— Shadow (@darkman_011) August 19, 2025

Appeal denied

The student’s lawyer, Srđan Miković, told N1 that the duty judge of the Basic Court rejected the appeal against the decision to keep Andrej in detention.

“Although I believe that the decision made by the police to detain him for up to 48 hours is absolutely illegal, because there is no substantive justification in it, other than stating certain alleged dangers that he might influence witnesses, and it is not even known who the witnesses are, or that he might remove evidence, regardless of not specifying what that evidence is. This is contrary to previous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, but it is our practice that appeals against police detention decisions are practically generally rejected,” he explained.

He said that the detention order states that there was a pushing match with the police and that he practically sprayed police officers with a certain liquid using a sprayer.

“The fact is that it was very hot that day, and the fact is that almost every other person had some water with them, whether it was a sprayer or a bottle of water. I claim that there is no talk of using any other liquid because today, in this day and age, it is enough to determine the composition of the liquid in half an hour. If no police officer complained of any consequences, it is obviously just water, and this is now only presented so that it can be interpreted as an assault on an official, for which the threatened prison sentence is from three to ten years,” he pointed out.

As he said, it is obviously about scaring these people so that they do not rebel when there is a drastic violation of anyone’s safety.

“Don’t forget that on that day on the Tamiš, according to the prosecutors’ interpretation, there was an attempted murder.”

The acting prosecutor announced that there will be a hearing tomorrow at 3 p.m., he added.

He said that due to the rejection of the appeal to lift the detention, Andrej could not take one of his final exams at ETF, and that he was the valedictorian of his high school.

“He is a top student, who takes care of his grandfather and mother who are in poor health and who, in addition to studying, also works and earns to provide for himself and his loved ones. And it is precisely such a person who will not be able to come tomorrow at 3 p.m. to take the exam because the prosecutor subsequently changed the time of the hearing to exactly 3 p.m.,” he stated.

He also recalled that his client remained immune to provocation when “rapists got in his face,” but it was obviously necessary to prepare something for which they could conduct a procedure.