Extended Rector's College University in Belgrade sent an open letter to the Supreme Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac because student testimonies about police violence in the Serbian Government building on August 15.
The open letter of the Extended Rector's College is signed by the rector of the University of Belgrade Vladan Djokic.
The letter requests that the competent public prosecutor's office take "appropriate measures and actions, which will include issuing orders to the Department of Internal Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to collect information, establish facts and secure evidence."
The Rector's College also stated that its members were "very unpleasantly surprised by the announcement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in which the statements of students are denied without first establishing the factual situation within the framework of the procedure established by law."
"No one, especially police officers, should be protected from investigation and accountability," the letter added.
What does the letter say?
Below is the letter in its entirety:
"Dear Mrs. Dolovac,
I am addressing you on behalf of the Extended Rector's College of the University of Belgrade, whose members are deeply moved by the testimonies of students about the police brutality they experienced in the Government of the Republic of Serbia building on August 15 of the current year.
We believe that establishing the truth about an event that upset the entire public is a legal and moral obligation that must not be neglected.
The members of the collegium are very unpleasantly surprised by the announcement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in which the statements of the students are denied without first establishing the factual situation within the framework of the procedure established by law. No one, especially police officers, should be protected from investigation and accountability.
The claims made by our students raise suspicions that serious crimes were committed by authorized police officers. Every state that pretends to be called legal is obliged to undertake legally prescribed actions in order to verify the grounds of suspicion that such acts have been committed.
We strongly demand that the competent public prosecutor's office take appropriate measures and actions, which will include issuing orders to the Department of Internal Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to collect information, establish facts and secure evidence.
We remind you that the allegations of students and other citizens about brutal and illegal behavior directly refer to high-ranking police officials, which, together with the social context in which the event took place, causes fear, insecurity and indignation. Because of everything that has not been done, we insist on the urgent and immediate action of the competent prosecutor's office.
Dear Supreme Public Prosecutor, on behalf of the academic community of the University of Belgrade, we seek answers, truth and justice and appeal to your professional and personal conscience, convinced that you will act in accordance with the law and ethical principles. Please inform us about the measures and actions taken", says the letter of the Extended Rector's College of the University of Belgrade.
