Students as “terrorists”: a campaign by the authorities and tabloids

Category: Elections, media and institutions

Period: from 23 Dec 2024

Since the student blockades began after the canopy collapse in Novi Sad, the President of Serbia, government ministers, SNS officials and pro-government media have repeatedly called students and their supporters “terrorists”, “blockaders” and participants in a “colour revolution” run by foreign intelligence services. According to UN experts, students and university officials were the targets of coordinated smear campaigns. No proceedings have been brought against any official. Informer received a public reprimand from the Press Council for publishing the passports of two students and, according to Vreme, was ordered to pay them damages.

What the authorities call students

Since the student blockades began after the canopy collapse in Novi Sad (1.11.2024), the President of Serbia, government ministers, the Speaker of the National Assembly, SNS officials and pro-government media have repeatedly and publicly called students and their supporters “terrorists”, “blockaders” and participants in a “colour revolution” funded or run by foreign intelligence services, and some have called them “Ustashas”.

This entry records statements and headlines as they were published and does not assess their legal nature.

In the National Assembly and after the elections

The same rhetoric continued in the National Assembly and in the campaign for the 2026 elections.

After the victory of the Student List, Vučić spoke of the “blockaders” as agents of “revolutionary terror” acting on the orders of foreigners.

FON students and Rector Đokić

Pro-government media portrayed two FON students as „Croats“ leading the blockades and published their passports, while University of Belgrade rector Vladan Đokić was the target of a campaign by Informer and of repeated statements by Vučić.

In neither of those two cases were proceedings brought against any official. The Press Council issued Informer a public reprimand over the article about the passports, and according to Vreme, the Higher Court in Belgrade ordered Informer to pay the students damages.

Front pages and warnings

Raskrikavanje counted more than 1,800 manipulative articles on the front pages of six daily newspapers in 2025, and another 141 during the 2026 election campaign.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and seven UN experts called on the authorities to stop stigmatising protesters; according to the UN experts, students and university officials were the targets of coordinated smear campaigns.

Threats against Professor Bakić

Jovo Bakić, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and later a candidate on the Student List, said in July 2025 that he had received several threats within 24 hours after, according to him, some local SNS officials posted his phone number and address on social media.

He said he would not go to the police because “in a hijacked state” he cannot seek protection from institutions, and that President Aleksandar Vučić is to blame for anything bad that happens to him.

Charges against nine students

Više javno tužilaštvo u Beogradu podnelo je 19. septembra 2025. optužni predlog protiv devetoro studenata, navodno uhapšenih posle Vidovdanskog protesta, za pripremanje dela protiv ustavnog uređenja i bezbednosti Srbije u vezi sa pozivanjem na nasilnu promenu ustavnog uređenja.

Viši sud u Beogradu izdvojio je kao nezakonite dokaze pribavljene posebnim dokaznim radnjama, koji su bili bitan deo optužbe, a Apelacioni sud u Beogradu to je potvrdio. Tužilaštvo je u novembru 2026. odustalo od optužbe, jer, kako navodi, više nema dovoljno dokaza.

Participants

Aleksandar Vučić: On 29 October 2026, he said that “real revolutionary terror” was being carried out on the streets on the orders of foreigners (responsible)
Miloš Vučević: He portrayed the student protests as an attempted colour revolution, saying there were “clear traces” of one (responsible)
Ana Brnabić: She accused students of planning terrorism and called blockaders “cowards and sadists” carrying out “revolutionary terror” (responsible)
Milenko Jovanov: In the Assembly, he called some of those present a “terrorist gang” that had attempted a “coup and putsch” after the canopy collapse (responsible)
Informer: It published a secret recording of a plenum, on the basis of which Brnabić accused students of planning terrorism (responsible)
Alo: With the headline “Terrorists seriously injure police officer”, it called students terrorists without checking, even though the footage showed otherwise (responsible)
Večernje novosti: Together with Kurir, Alo and Informer, 166 front pages carried 141 manipulative articles during the 2026 campaign (responsible)
Press Council: Following a complaint by YUCOM, it found that Alo had called students “terrorists” without any verification, even though the footage showed otherwise (oversight and the public)
Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM): Its complaint led to the ruling that Alo had called students “terrorists” without verification (oversight and the public)
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: UN experts pointed to smear campaigns against students and protesters being labelled “terrorists” (oversight and the public)
Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM): The Council was not constituted until 22 September 2026, in the middle of the campaign, and no decision was made on monitoring TV Informer (oversight and the public)
Higher Court in Belgrade: It ordered Informer to pay damages to two students over their passports, and it excluded as unlawful the evidence against nine defendants (investigation and courts)
Vladan Đokić: According to the Kreni-promeni legal team, he was summoned for questioning a few days after a complaint was filed against him, while complaints against officials went unanswered (harmed)
University of Belgrade: Rector and deans targeted by Informer campaign; they announce legal action (harmed)
Students in blockade: Labelled “terrorists”, “blockaders” and participants in a “colour revolution” (harmed)
Student List – Students Are Winning: Winner of the election of 25/10/2026; after the election her supporters were labelled "blockaders" carrying out "revolutionary terror" (harmed)
Jovo Bakić: By his account, he received several threats after local SNS officials published his phone number and address (harmed)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Special Department for Combating Corruption: In 2025, it filed an indictment motion against nine defendants for overthrowing the constitutional order, and in 2026 it dropped the charges (investigation and courts)