Protest held in Belgrade: “A Student ID is Stronger than a Baton”

According to the protest plan that students shared on Instagram, local community assemblies, healthcare and medical workers and members of the general public gathered alongside students at 2 pm in front of the Serbian Government building in downtown Belgrade. From there, the column marched to the Palace of Justice, then to the headquarters of the Unit for Protection of Designated Persons and Facilities (JZO), and finally to the last planned stop—the Internal Control Sector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In front of the Serbian Government headquarters, student protesters said that the authorities were the “instigators of excessive force” and were “falsely claiming that security comes above all else.”

Over a loudspeaker from a truck, they made it clear they were not there “because protesting has become a trend,” but because they are “being beaten, arrested, and intimidated,” Beta news agency’s reporter said.

“Police use excessive force every single day, and we are the ones counting the beaten, detained, and silenced citizens,” the students said at the rally.

Speaking at the protest, law student Aleksandra Nikolic said that behind all the attacks on students, on the Rector’s Office in Novi Sad and on the universities in Belgrade and Novi Sad lies the same message the authorities are trying to send: “Be obedient, be afraid, stay silent, back down, keep quiet, don't report anything, don't fight back – there is no hope and no justice.”

Nikolic, whose head was bashed and teeth broken by police during one of the protests, urged the crowd in front of the government building to remember the message “A Student ID is Stronger than a Baton” and to keep it in mind at every future demonstration, especially since “she and the other victims of the regime’s terror won’t be able to show up while they’re recovering from the traumatic events they’ve endured.”

“I want those words to ignite defiance, determination, and a sense of the freedom we are slowly but surely claiming,” she emphasized to the participants.

Nikolic added that there is no excuse for storming university campuses or beating anyone caught on the streets of our cities—minors, adults, the elderly, the poor, and everyone else.

“The police haven’t protected the people for a long time now, they have put the judiciary on a leash. The state and its institutions don’t work when they do their jobs selectively,” Nikolic said.

The protest continued with a march to the Palace of Justice, where red paint was spilled on the steps in front of the entrance to the building.

Outside the headquarters of the Unit for the Protection of Designated Persons and Facilities (JZO), student Nikolina Sindjelic said they had been beaten by commanders of specialized units, fully geared-up special forces with masks covering their faces—faceless, nameless people.

“Every fist that struck a citizen of the Republic of Serbia instead of a criminal hit us. Every baton that came down on a student rather than a mobster struck us. Tear gas, rubber bullets, and cordons shielding the powerful from their own people—they all hit us. They beat us because they are afraid, because they know they can't keep a standing people on their knees forever. They beat us and they will keep beating us because they know it’s over—and we know it too,” Sindjelic said.

She pointed out that “the entire state apparatus is turned against its own citizens.”

“But let them hear it and let them know: neither all their batons, nor their shields, nor their fake reports can break what’s in our hearts—freedom, dignity, and refusal to back down,” she said.

The protest column eventually reached the Ministry of Internal Affairs building, home to the Internal Control Sector, where demonstrators sent more messages.

Throughout the march, protesters chanted “Pump it up,” and “Everyone to the streets,” while making noise with whistles and horns.

The protest wrapped up around 6 pm.