Serbia students protest for civil rights in front of Supreme Court News
© WikiMedia (Bojan Cvetanović)
Serbia students protest for civil rights in front of Supreme Court

Thousands of Serbia’s striking university students protested in front of the country’s Supreme Court on Sunday to highlight what they claim are violations of civil rights under the populist government, including intimidation and threats.

The protest commenced with thousands of people standing in silence for 15 minutes in commemoration for the victims of a railway station roof collapse in November of last year, killing fifteen people and triggering daily anti-corruption rallies for months.

Since then, university classes have been suspended with students demanding accountability from government officials, including Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and Mayor of Novi Sad Milan Đurić.

The ongoing protests reflect an ongoing discontent with the rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, criticized for his increasingly autocratic rule. In a long commentary in 2023, the New York Times wrote of alleged connections that the Serbian president has with the country’s criminal underworld, and how such ties helped him keep a grip on power. The article drew broad international attention, with Vučić calling it an orchestration by the CIA.

In a report in December of 2024, Amnesty International documented how Serbian authorities are misusing surveillance technology and digital repression tactics against civil society and dissent groups in the country.

Over the past two years, the country has experienced a wave of anti-government protests. Last year thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Serbia to oppose Rio Tinto’s lithium mining project, raising concerns about its environmental impact. In December 2023, opposition parties rallied against the results of the general and local elections, accusing the ruling SNS of widespread fraud.

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