On Wednesday evening, police repression escalated. At least 23 students and a professor were arrested as police attempted to enter the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. The Ministry of Interior denies violating the university’s autonomy – a regulation that prohibits police from entering university grounds unless formally requested by the university administration.
Since then, arrests have continued and have included prominent local politicians, professors, students, and other university staff members.
This morning, several confrontations occurred between protesters and riot police in the center of Belgrade. According to a member of a citizens’ assembly, one person was reportedly arrested for “insulting an official” by riding a bicycle and shouting “pump it up.”
Dean of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts Says University Is Not and Will Not Be a Place of Fear
At a press conference, Dean Miloš Pavlović stated that the behavior of top state officials, through institutions and controlled media, represents a deliberate effort to target, discipline, and silence all critical voices.
“The Faculty of Dramatic Arts is not and will not be a place of fear, but a space for free thought, creation, and responsibility. We stand for the right to resist, to question, to doubt. We stand for the right to freedom,” Pavlović concluded.
The university is demanding an immediate end to the repression, including the targeting of the faculty, and clear guarantees that freedom of expression, artistic work, and academic criticism will not be criminalized.
SafeJournalists Network Says Situation Out of Control
The SafeJournalists network in the Western Balkans strongly condemned threats, intimidation, attacks, and arrests of journalists and other media workers reporting on protests across Serbia, according to a statement. They write: “We call on the relevant institutions to act urgently and ensure their protection so they can safely and freely perform a job of vital public interest – especially at a time when demonstrations against the current regime are taking place daily.”
“The SafeJournalists network calls on all relevant institutions, especially the police and prosecutor’s office, to conduct thorough investigations without delay into all cases of threats and violence against journalists and to promptly identify and prosecute the perpetrators. We specifically urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs to investigate the responsibility of its officers and initiate proceedings. The lack of state response further fuels a climate of impunity and jeopardizes the public’s right to be informed,” the statement reads.
Civil Society Demands an End to Brutality
Civil society organizations are also urgently demanding an end to the brutality and unlawful actions against students, high schoolers, and minors – reportedly being carried out daily by police and individuals posing as police officers, according to a joint statement.
They emphasized that “Mass arrests and detentions in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš, accompanied by blatant violations of the Constitution, laws, and police procedures, represent a dangerous escalation of repression. By concealing officers’ identities, the repression is further intensified and risks going unpunished.”
The fact that many of those arrested were prosecuted only for misdemeanors and then released clearly indicates the excessive and disproportionate use of force by police officers, the statement says.
“We are also witnessing a troubling misuse of judicial institutions – namely, selective prosecution by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, which is primarily targeting citizens who express dissatisfaction over the government’s refusal to meet student demands. Top state officials are showing no willingness to act responsibly in ways that could help the country emerge from a deep crisis that has lasted nearly eight months,” the statement reads.
Signatories of the statement include: the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, CRTA, Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM), Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Centre for Judicial Research (CEPRIS), Civic Initiatives, FemPlatz, and Partners Serbia.
President Vučić Pardons Hooligans Accused of Assaulting a Student
As the streets overflow with dissent and protest, the Serbian President issued a pardon for four activists of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party who were accused of attacking students and breaking one female student’s jaw during the night of January 27–28.
Former Prime Minister Says Protests Will Last Only a Few More Days
The current president of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party Miloš Vučević stated on the government-affiliated media outlet Pink: “The criminal and misdemeanor legislation should be changed so that blockades become criminal offenses with stricter penalties. He also referred to citizens engaging in civil disobedience as “terrorists,” claiming that the current street blockades mark “the beginning of the end of a color revolution.”
He claimed that 3,681 people participated this morning in “harassing fellow citizens across Serbia.” He added, “They are denying others their right to move, physically attacking them, and then fleeing the scene at an incredible speed.”
Regarding the goals of the blockades, Vučević said the aim is “to push Serbia backward. To stop us from building highways and high-speed rail. To make it a place where the largest foreign investors no longer come.”
He remarked that the protests would only last a few more days, as, according to him, protesters no longer have the energy or strength to continue.
A.M.
