Rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, stated that the ongoing police search of the Rectorate building represents not a personal attack, but an attempt to undermine the idea that any institution in Serbia can exist outside government control.
Addressing protesters gathered outside the Rectorate, while police conducted a search inside, Đokić said the university remains “the last institution standing upright,” not because of its walls, but because of its people—professors who refuse to remain silent, students who refuse to be afraid, and citizens who refuse to forget “sixteen lives lost in Novi Sad.”
Referring to the investigation into the death of a student from the Faculty of Philosophy, which prompted the police action, Đokić emphasized that the university fully respects the rule of law and supports any lawful investigation. However, he argued that the current operation is not about justice but intimidation.
“We call for an independent investigation—if necessary, one under international supervision—into the circumstances of our student’s death. We demand forensic expertise, not political operations. We seek truth, not punishment for those pursuing it,” Đokić stated.
He also urged the international community to respond, calling on universities across Europe, the European Commission, and the European Parliament to defend academic freedom.
“Today it is Belgrade. Tomorrow it could be any university in Europe that dares to stand with its students,” he warned.
Đokić further claimed that members of the criminal police entered the Rectorate without prior notice, clear legal justification, or respect for the autonomy of Serbia’s oldest and most prestigious educational institution.
According to him, computers and equipment were seized, offices searched, and documents requested, while pro-government television broadcast the operation live.
“They did not come to investigate. They came to humiliate. They came to send a message to every professor, student, and citizen—this is what happens to those who refuse to remain silent,” Đokić said.
He stressed that the tragic death of the student deserves a dignified, independent, and thorough investigation, adding that the university had immediately called for such a process and offered full cooperation.
“Instead, we witnessed a police raid carried out in front of cameras. The Rectorate’s computers contain no information relevant to the investigation of a student’s death at the Faculty of Philosophy. Everyone knows that. But that is not the point—the point is the image: police in the Rectorate, the rector under investigation, the university on its knees,” he stated.
Đokić concluded that the authorities are targeting the university not because it has done something wrong, but “because it has done something right.”
“We stood with students. We stood with truth. We stood with Serbia. And we will continue to do so—with or without equipment. Power lies not in malice, but in knowledge,” he said.
