Thousands rally in Serbia's capital against crackdown on student-led protests

Описание: (28 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Belgrade, Serbia - 27 January 2026
++NIGHT TIME++
1. People, including students, arriving to join protest
2. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Petar Hajder, Student: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT3-6++
”I am here tonight because for the past year and a half, we have been fighting daily, and today we are marking St. Sava Day (patron saint of Serbia) and we expect the end of this fight. On December 28, we collected signatures to call for elections and we are just showing once again that after a month, we have not lowered the pressure, there are still lots of people on the streets and we are fighting until the end.”
3. Protesters
4. Man holding banner reading (Serbian) “Students are our Serbian heroes”
5. Banner reading (Serbian) “Pump it up.”
6. Protesters
7. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Katarina (no last name given), Student: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 8-9++
”I am here to support the student movement. I have been here since day one at the university plenary sessions. I am always here to support this movement. Tensions are not easing, I think we are still fighting and that we will succeed and everything will be just fine.”
8. Pan shot of people at protest
9. Various of protesters marching
STORYLINE:
Thousands of people gathered in Serbia's capital on Tuesday to protest against a government crackdown on universities that have been a main force behind more than a year of protests shaking the rule of autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic. 

Protesters rallied outside the headquarters of the University of Belgrade in the city center, on a day which also marked a national day of education and the feast day of Serbia's patron saint.

The gathering — dubbed “Knowledge is power" — was in support of professors and teachers throughout the Balkan nation, who have lost their jobs or positions for taking part in the anti-government demonstrations.
 
Student-led demonstrations first erupted after the November 2024 collapse of a concrete railway station canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad that claimed the lives of 16 people.

Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy on corruption-fueled disregard of safety rules during a renovation work on the building.

The nationwide protests were the most sustained and numerous in years in Serbia, drawing hundreds of thousands of people.

Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early election as protesters have demanded, but has stepped up repression instead.  

The president is formally seeking European Union entry for Serbia but has strengthened ties with Russia and China while facing accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms.

Tuesday's rally in Belgrade came days after riot police evicted protesting students from a faculty building in Novi Sad in a demonstration of force against possible attempts to renew university strikes of last year.

Serbia has faced international criticism over reports of excessive force and arbitrary detentions of protesters.

AP video by Marko Drobnjakovic

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