It has already been a month and a half since the administration of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade informed the public about the tragic death of one of its students.
The statement said that the incident had occurred in the evening, that the relevant authorities had been immediately notified, that they had arrived at the scene, and that an investigation was underway. It emphasized that the faculty was fully cooperating with the competent institutions and would provide all necessary support in order to determine all the circumstances surrounding the event. On behalf of the faculty and the entire academic community, condolences were expressed to the family of the deceased student, her friends, and colleagues, while the media and the public were asked for understanding and respect for the family’s privacy and the dignity of all those affected by the tragedy.
What followed, however, was unprecedented, shameless abuse and instrumentalization of the girl’s death at the hands of the media. In the grossest violation of all ethical and professional norms, at the expense of the human rights and privacy of the deceased and her family, tabloids controlled by the authorities spent days repeating insinuations, and even categorical claims, without any evidence, that the girl had been murdered.
A powerful media machine was mobilized in an attempt to turn the tragedy into an indictment against participants in protests against the government, as well as against students and professors. It was entirely logical that many citizens recognized in the actions of pro-regime media the preparation for an attack on the university, an attempt to suppress academic autonomy and discipline professors and students who dare to oppose the ruling “elite.”
This was soon dramatically confirmed by the intrusion of a large number of members of the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP) into the building of the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade. Given the previously known and undisputed willingness of university and faculty administrations to cooperate, this completely unnecessary and senseless show of force provoked outrage and protest gatherings of students and citizens at Students’ Square, as well as verbal and physical clashes with the police. The “spectacular” arrival of the UKP vehicle convoy with flashing lights in front of the Rectorate building was recorded by television cameras of the government’s favorite tabloid, clearly tipped off in advance about the operation, which waited for the police and broadcast the officers’ entry into the Rectorate live.
The tabloid campaign was accompanied by complementary actions from others. Many building facades were defaced with graffiti reading “students = terrorists” or “rector = murderer.”
Government officials also joined in. For the Speaker of the National Assembly (who had previously rejected a proposal to form an inquiry commission into the tragic collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad), the student’s death became the reason for convening an emergency session of the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Science, Technological Development and the Information Society to discuss the situation at state faculties. The Ombudsman launched proceedings to review the work of the Faculty of Philosophy. The Ministry of Education announced an emergency inspection of the legality of the institution’s operations. The Minister of Education stated that the tragedy at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade was “the tip of the iceberg” and that “the rector and the dean owe an explanation as to why the tragedy happened and what should be done to prevent such things from happening again.”
The President of the Republic, as usual, allowed himself the most leeway and told the media this:
“The girl was completely normal; she sent completely normal messages just 18 minutes before her death. Nothing indicated that she would do anything to herself, nothing strange in her behavior – she was forced into it. In what way? I am sure the investigation will determine that, and I would not interfere further.”
And quite independently of the question, to which there is no acceptable answer, of how the president came into possession of information from the pre-investigation proceedings, especially such detailed information, and who might have given it to him and why, such a statement from the top state leadership undoubtedly constituted impermissible interference in the proceedings and thus a violation of Article 155 of the Serbian Constitution and Article 5 of the Law on Public Prosecution, both of which explicitly prohibit any influence on the work of prosecutors.
The fact that neither the High Prosecutorial Council nor the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office reacted to this is confirmation of the deplorable state of our judiciary.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade handling the case did not respond to media questions as to whether it possessed information that the student had been murdered and whether it had communicated with the President of Serbia on the matter.
Despite the “complex” involvement of the prosecutor’s office, police, Ombudsman, Ministry of Education, and who knows who else, the public knows only one thing: the autopsy report showed that the student’s death resulted from injuries caused by a fall from a height, while toxicological analysis revealed no presence of medication or psychoactive substances. No other traces of violence or causes of death have been mentioned. And the attempt to causally connect certain pyrotechnic material – firecrackers allegedly found during a search conducted under legally highly questionable circumstances – with the death is entirely unconvincing.
For days, the tragic death was used to smear students and professors with grave accusations without any evidence and, in a frighteningly irresponsible and malicious manner, further inflame an already overheated atmosphere in society. By failing to react and remaining silent, the competent authorities in the prosecutor’s office enabled this. It is their obligation to put an end to it, and their failure to do so is something they must eventually be held accountable for.
Translated by Marijana Simić
Peščanik.net, 20.05.2026.
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