The background
– Last Thursday (March 26, 2026) a 25-year old female student died when she “allegedly” fell from the fifth floor of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade. The circumstances leading to this tragic accident are unknown, and any speculation to the causes must be held back until a proper investigation surrounding the tragedy has been conducted.
– This tragedy follows a long period of protests by students who demand a full inquiry of the tragic collapse of the canopy at the train station in Novi Sad. The cause of the tragedy, whether caused by the use of inadequate materials, negligence of safety procedures, or the possible role of corruption, combined with dissatisfaction with the Serbian government and media censorship brought the students into months-long protests across the country.
– On Tuesday March 31, 2026, the Serbian police entered the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade, accompanied by a Serbian media outlet that „happened to be present at the scene“, in an attempt to intimidate and humiliate the university staff, professors and students. When students heard about the police action, they massively came to the Rectorate in order to protect it, leading to subsequent clashes with the police.
The speech
Below, you may find a full transcript of today’s (March 31, 2026) historic speech by the Rector of the University of Belgrade, Professor Vladan Đokić:
“Dear citizens of Serbia,
At noon today, members of the Criminal Police Directorate entered the building of the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade. Without prior notice. Without a clear legal explanation. Without respect for the autonomy of the oldest and most respectable educational institution in Serbia.
They seized computers and servers. They are searching offices. They are looking for documents.
And while they were doing this, a pro-regime television broadcast it live. They did not come to investigate. They came to humiliate. They came to tell every professor, every student, every citizen: “see what happens to those who choose not to remain silent?”.
Let us clarify what has happened today.
A young woman died on Thursday. A tragedy that deserves a dignified, independent, and thorough investigation. The University of Belgrade immediately called for such an investigation to be conducted. We offered our full cooperation.
Instead, we’ve received a police raid in front of cameras.
The Rectorate’s computers contain no information relevant to the investigation of the death of a student at the Faculty of Philosophy. Everyone knows this. But that is not the point. The point is the construed image: the police in the Rectorate. The Rector under investigation. The university on its knees.
That image is meant for you. To make you afraid. To make you think: if they can do this to the University, what can they do to me?
But let us take a look at another image.
As the police entered through one door, students came in through another. Thousands of them. Spontaneously. Without being summons by political parties , without prior organization, without organized bus rides. They came because they knew what was happening. They came because this is their university. They came because they are not afraid.
That is the real image of today. Not the police in the Rectorate, but the students in front of it.
To the authorities who ordered this, I say:
You can seize computers and servers. You cannot seize the truth.
You can search offices. You cannot search the conscience of the people.
You can send the police. But for every patrol you send, a thousand students will come in response.
Sixteen people died in Novi Sad. No one has been held accountable. No one has been dismissed. No servers have been seized. No offices have been searched.
But when a Rector stands with their students, then the police arrive.
That tells you everything you need to know about this government. They are not afraid of crime. They are afraid of education.
To the students, I say:
You have seen what happened today. You have seen the police at your University. You have seen cameras broadcasting it as if it were a victory.
It is not a victory. It is an admission of defeat. When a government sends police to a university, it means it has lost all arguments. When it seizes computers instead of answering questions, it means it has no answers.
For fifteen months you have stood in the streets. In the rain. In the sun. In the cold. They said you would give up. You did not. They said you were terrorists. You are not. They said you were foreign hirelings. You are not. Now they are sending police to your University.
And you will not give up now, either.
To the citizens of Serbia, I say:
What happened today at the University of Belgrade is not an attack on me personally. This is an attack on the idea that there may be anything in Serbia that the government cannot control. The University is the last institution still standing upright. That is the reason why they came.
But the University does not stand upright just because it has walls. It stands upright because it has people. Professors who refuse to remain silent. Students who refuse to be afraid.
Citizens who refuse to forget the sixteen lives lost in Novi Sad.
They can take computers and servers. But the very building blocks of this University – honor, knowledge, truth – that cannot box up and carry out of the edifice.
About the investigation:
The University of Belgrade fully respects the rule of law. We support every lawful investigation. However, what happened today, had nothing to do with leading an investigation. But it had plenty to do with intimidation.
I repeat the call: we demand an independent investigation, and if necessary one under international supervision, into the circumstances of our student’s death. We demand forensic experts, not political operations. We demand truth, not punishment for those who seek it.
To the international community:
Today, the police have entered the University of Belgrade. This has been broadcast live as a political spectacle. This is not an investigation. This is a repression against the freedom of thought.
I appeal to universities across Europe, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and all who believe in academic freedom – please speak out. Today – it is Belgrade. Tomorrow – it may be any other university in Europe, which dares to stand by its students.
I will conclude in the same manner I began – with the truth.
This government is not attacking the University because we have done something wrong.
It is attacking us because we have done something right.
We stood by the students. We stood for the truth. We stood for Serbia.
And we will continue to do so. With servers or without them. Not in malice, but in knowledge true power lies!
