In a significant international escalation of the ongoing unrest in Serbia, students from the Universities of Novi Sad and Niš will travel to Brussels tomorrow, Thursday, May 7, 2026. At the invitation of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), they are set to testify regarding systemic police brutality and the erosion of academic freedom in Serbia.
The visit aims to provide European officials with first-hand accounts of the treatment of student activists and the institutional pressures currently facing higher education in the country.
Testimony on Human Rights and Democracy
The delegation, consisting of one student from Novi Sad and one from Niš, will provide evidence on several critical issues:
- Police Brutality: Documenting incidents where the Gendarmery (Žandarmerija) reportedly targeted students, activists, and peaceful citizens during protests throughout 2025 and early 2026.
- University Autonomy: Detailing what students describe as the “police occupation” of campuses, specifically citing events in Novi Sad where the university campus remained under police presence for several weeks.
- Institutional Pressure: Addressing the situation in Niš, where the Faculty of Philosophy has faced pressures such as the forced restructuring of study programs and police interventions on campus grounds.
International Scrutiny of the “Vučić Administration”
The move comes as European Democrats and other political blocs in Brussels express increasing concern over the state of democracy in Serbia. Recently, images of “students and peaceful citizens kneeling with tied hands” were highlighted by European officials as a troubling symbol of the current political climate under President Aleksandar Vučić.
This visit follows a prior diplomatic mission by the Rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, who met with European Commissioner Marta Kos on April 20 to discuss the crisis from an administrative perspective.
A Climate of Repression
According to the report by Nova.rs, Serbian citizens have faced months of:
- Targeting and Threats: Public smear campaigns against professors and students who speak out.
- Arbitrary Arrests: Numerous reports of activists being detained and prosecuted for participating in civil disobedience.
- Academic Interference: The “dismantling” of faculty structures in Niš is seen by many as a direct attempt to weaken the independence of the academic community.
The goal of the students’ visit is to bypass domestic media narratives and present a direct “view from the ground” to the European Union, potentially influencing future EU policy regarding Serbia’s accession process and human rights requirements.
