On Tuesday evening, a large number of citizens gathered at Students’ Square in Belgrade to protest after members of the Criminal Police Directorate entered the Rectorate. At around 10 p.m., the Rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, addressed those assembled from the balcony.
After several hours of protest over the police entering the Rectorate on the orders of the Prosecutor’s Office, Rector Vladan Đokić appeared on the terrace at about 10 p.m., holding a megaphone. “You saw the police at the University – this is not a victory, it is a defeat for the authorities. This is not an attack on me personally, but an attack on the idea that there is someone or something the authorities cannot control,” said Đokić.
“Members of the Criminal Police Directorate entered the building without a clear legal explanation or prior notice. They seized computers and receivers, searched offices, and looked for documents… but in reality, they came to send a message about what will happen to everyone who does not remain silent,” the rector continued, frequently interrupted by fervent applause.
“Instead of an independent investigation into the death of a female student, we got a raid accompanied by the media. They wanted an image of the police in the Rectorate. That image is meant to frighten you,” the rector told those gathered, adding that the police “may search the Rectorate’s premises, but they cannot search the conscience of the people.”
The rector’s address was preceded by clashes with the police and the withdrawal of demonstrators to Students’ Square. Students and other protesters had called for the protest in front of the Rectorate building after members of the Criminal Police Directorate had earlier entered the institution.
Shortly before the protest began, police intervened, pushing back citizens, which led to several incidents and physical clashes between police and demonstrators. During the intervention, police also pushed members of the press.
After allowing several vehicles through, police withdrew towards Republic Square, where further clashes broke out. Following pushing and shoving in front of the Rectorate, members of the Police Brigade retreated towards Republic Square. A police cordon was formed at the intersection near the National Museum, where clashes between police and citizens resumed. Police struck those gathered with batons, while some citizens threw soil from planters at them.
“They hit girls, they hit women – they are ruthless,” one student told N1. Some journalists were not allowed to stand behind the cordon. Soon after the Police Brigade arrived, members of the Gendarmerie also appeared in full riot gear.
Although the protest in front of the Rectorate had been announced for 7 p.m., citizens had been continuously gathering at Students’ Square since the Criminal Police entered the building. At one point, a physical confrontation occurred in Vasa Čarapić Street between masked police officers and citizens.
Support from Novi Sad students
A support gathering for the University of Belgrade was held in front of the Rectorate building of the University of Novi Sad.
The rally was called by the academic network “Free University”, with the message that police have no place at the University.
Professors and students also gathered on the Novi Sad University campus due to what they describe as “police violence against colleagues in Belgrade.”
Unlike the protest in Belgrade, there was no police presence near the Novi Sad University campus, where the Rectorate building is located.
Police Director: Minimal use of force
Police Director Dragan Vasiljević stated at a press conference regarding the entry of Criminal Police officers into the Rectorate that, on the orders of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade and a warrant from the Higher Court in Belgrade, the police are searching the Rectorate building. He added that on Tuesday evening the police restored public order in central Belgrade “with minimal use of force.”
Vasiljević emphasised that police have continued activities in the case of the death of a female student at the Faculty of Philosophy.
“During the search, which is still ongoing… a number of items have been found that will be seized and forwarded to the competent prosecutor’s office,” he said and noted that a large quantity of “explosive devices, firecrackers, sprays, and numerous walkie-talkies” had been discovered.
“Gas masks, a large number of banners, radio devices… as well as various medical supplies, needles, IV cannulas, and multiple packages of different contents – we will determine after analysis what is inside those packages,” he added.
He also stated that receivers containing surveillance footage had been seized, documenting entry into the Faculty of Philosophy. “We will determine when, at what time, and how the student entered, and what happened at the Faculty of Philosophy,” Vasiljević explained.
He went on to say that members of the Ministry of the Interior had been subjected to an “incredible and inappropriate act of attack.”
“The police investigating the case were attacked for doing their job. That is both inappropriate and, to me, completely incomprehensible. The police restored order and peace with minimal use of force and continue measures and activities in this case,” Vasiljević said.
He underlined that the police did not go against the prosecutor’s orders and the court’s warrant, and that procedures would be carried out to completion. “They will not allow attacks on the police, nor disturbances of public order. We cannot allow the law to be disregarded,” he concluded.
(Vreme, 31.03.2026)
https://vreme.com/vesti/protest-policija-rektorat-studenti-rektor-vladan-djokic/