University of Belgrade law student denied entry into Serbia

Strugar, a Serb from Montenegro, was informed on April 16 at a border crossing between Serbia and Montenegro that her name was listed in a system flagging her for entry denial into Serbia.

In a written statement released by Helena and her family, they said she was held in official premises for over an hour, during which border officials told her they were waiting for further instructions from superiors and were unsure of the legal basis for the ban.

They believe the action may be linked to a violent attack on January 13, when masked thugs brutally assaulted several of her fellow students. Strugar tried to intervene by stepping between the attackers and the victims and was herself injured.

According to Helena and her family, she managed in that chaotic moment to record the attackers’ faces with her phone. That footage later served as a key piece of evidence in the prosecution’s case against the perpetrators.

She claims that since the incident, she has faced continuous pressure during police questioning. She said that officers even attempted to alter her statement while typing it, in an effort to distort the facts. She prevented this by insisting on reading the full statement before signing it.

On February 7, Strugar traveled to Serbia at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to testify as both a witness and a victim. Despite alleged provocations and pressure from defense attorneys to change her testimony, she maintained her original statement.

Helena also reported that those attorneys spread false claims linking her and her sister to a criminal clan and individuals whom, she insists, they have never met or had any contact with.

Strugar said she attempted to enter Serbia again on April 22 via the same border crossing, but after an hour-long wait, was issued a formal notice denying her entry. The document contained no explanation beyond a checked box citing “security of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens.”

“We will absolutely seek accountability from all responsible parties involved in this serious persecution and abuse of power,” Helena Strugar and her parents said.