1. Over 1,000 gay rights activists in Serbia held their first pride march in four years on Sunday, walking through Belgrade streets emptied of traffic and pedestrians by a massive security operation.
2. Last year's march and the two before it had been banned after threats from right-wing activists. This year's march again faced threats, though organizers persisted with assistance from authorities.
4. An attack on a gay German activist in Belgrade earlier this month prompted new questions about whether police were up to the task of protecting LGBT people.
5. At the same time, however, the attack served as a call to action for Serbian authorities to prove they could address the prevention of hate crimes.
A gay rights activist holds a rainbow flag during a Pride march in Belgrade on Sunday.
6. On Saturday, several hundred people gathered in Belgrade to protest the Belgrade Gay Pride Parade. The anti-gay rally also drew a heavy police presence.
An Orthodox Christian nun holds a crucifix as she attends an anti-gay rights rally in Belgrade on Saturday.
Members of the Serbian Gendarmerie hold a cordon line during an anti-gay rights rally in Belgrade on Saturday.
9. In the days leading up to the Pride march, anti-gay graffiti appeared around the city.
A man walks past graffiti that reads "They Will Not March" in Serbian Cyrillic letters.
A woman walks past graffiti that reads "Stop the Parade of Shame."
A Serbian Army officer walks past a graffiti that reads "Stop the Parade."
12. In spite of the show of anti-gay sentiment, Saturday's pride march took place without any large scale-violence, though there were multiple arrests.
Riot police detain an anti-gay activist during Sunday's pride march in Belgrade.
13. While police did not specifically grant permission to the organizers, they allowed the earlier ban to expire at midnight the day before the march.
A couple kisses during the pride march.
