GATHERINGS IN BELGRADE, NIS AND KRUSEVAC: Police intervention at the Faculty of Philosophy sparked new protests!

Following today’s police intervention at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, students and citizens called for protests in several cities across the country.

While support rallies in Nis and Kragujevac have drawn to a close, in Belgrade, in front of the Assembly, citizens still stand opposed to government supporters in Pioneers Park, with a police cordon separating them.

Blokirana saobracajnica ispred Skupstine Srbije pic.twitter.com/f30dzfaOHm
— Maja (@M2aja) January 21, 2026

Belgrade under blockade, protests in Nis and Kragujevac concluded

Several hundred citizens who responded to the call of the Belgrade assemblies remain in front of the House of the National Assembly. The roadway is completely blocked, and the atmosphere is tense with chants of “pumpaj” (pump it up).

The police have set up cordons at two key points: in front of the Assembly stairs themselves and near Pioneers Park, where a tent settlement of government supporters is located.

The protest in Kragujevac, which gathered students from FILUM and other faculties, ended around 8:30 PM. After gathering at Student Square, a procession led by drummers marched to the Police Administration.

Professor Vladimir Zdravković told the crowd that the police entry into the campus trampled the autonomy of the university, but that “when the students rise, the professors rise too.” He metaphorically told the authorities that from the “grinding of justice,” the “wine of freedom that every citizen will taste” will eventually emerge. The gathering passed without incident.

Nis students and citizens also brought their protest to an end after a walk from the Basic Court to the Police Administration. The former dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis, Natalija Jovanović, harshly condemned the actions of her Novi Sad colleague, calling the dismissal of Professor Kleut “pure retaliation.”

In front of the police building, participants asked officers “why they are beating the students who are the future of the country.”

Milan Jaćimović released: Detained for swearing in front of the cordon

As a reminder, during today’s events in Novi Sad, Milan Jaćimović, the son of haulier Milomir Jaćimović, was detained.

According to lawyer Petar Prelić, the younger Jaćimović was detained for “disturbing public order and peace” because he swore in front of the cordon. He has since been released from the police station, and misdemeanor proceedings will be conducted against him.

We remind you that the police intervention occurred after students occupied the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, demanding the reinstatement of Professor Kleut to her job.

Around 4 PM, at the call of Dean Milivoj Alanović, several hundred members of the Gendarmerie and the Intervention Unit forcibly evicted students and professors from the building, which directly provoked tonight’s reactions across the country.