Belgrade Students Block Rectorate, Three Faculties Over Government Repression Against Youth

Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

A group of students blocked on Dec. 2 the University of Belgrade Rectorate offices, as well as the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Philology, and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics on December 2nd, demanding accountability for repression against their peers during protests in Novi Sad.

Among their demands is the prosecution of all those responsible for the collapse of the entrance canopy of the Novi Sad Railway Station that killed 15 people, leaving another two with severe injuries. The students briefly blocked part of the Students' Square in central Belgrade before proceeding to the faculties, a BETA agency journalist reported.

Angered by government actions, the students carried banners calling for the blockade. BETA was informed that student assemblies would be held at the faculties and in the Rectorate building to choose their next steps, with the blockade remaining in effect.

One of the protesting students, Milica Kostin, explained that they demanded those responsible for the Novi Sad fatalities to be identified and prosecuted, along with those involved "in the detention and arrest of students" during commemorative gatherings in Novi Sad.

They are also calling for the withdrawal of misdemeanor charges and the release from custody of all students and citizens who participated in those gatherings. "The blockade will continue until our demands are met, and students in Novi Sad have joined us by blockading their own Rectorate building," Kostin said, adding that students from the Faculty of Architecture were deciding whether to join the blockade as well.