Academic initiatives of students of several universities in Serbia sent an open letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday Gyuru Matsutou in which they state that on Friday, August 14, one year has passed since one of the most terrible nights during several months student and civil protests in Serbia and demand an answer as to who ordered the police violence in Valjeva.
"On the night between August 14 and 15, 2025, the police brutally intervened after a peaceful protest by citizens. Dozens of young people were brutally beaten, among them minors," claims the open letter to Matsut, signed by Pobunjeni University, the free universities in Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Niš, the Forum of the University of Arts in Belgrade, the Proactive University of Pristina with its temporary headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica, the State University in Novi Pazar and Academic plenum.
"We are sure that your subordinates informed you that about 60 citizens sought medical help at the Valjevo Health Center. After a year, the public still does not know who ordered such a brutal use of force, who directed it, and which police officers and their commanders will be held accountable for it and when," said the students.
Valjevo: Unprecedented brutality of the beaters and the police
Academic initiatives demand that all the facts about the events of August 14, 2025 be established and that the results of the proceedings be made public and that anyone found to have abused police powers or exceeded the permissible use of force be prosecuted.
"The truth does not become obsolete because your Government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are silent. Time will not erase the gruesome recordings, testimonies, medical documentation and painful memories of people who were victims of police violence that night. This kind of police brutality will remain recorded on the dark sides of contemporary Serbian history. If you do nothing, this brutality will bear your name," said the Student Academic Initiatives in an open letter to Macut.
"That's why publish the results of the investigation. Enable independent control of the actions of the police. Establish command responsibility, regardless of whether it is a competent or non-competent person. Process those who are found to have exceeded their authority. You owe it to the citizens of Valjevo. You owe it to the young people who were beaten that night. You also owe it to all citizens of Serbia. And, finally, you owe it to the institution of the Government of the Republic of Serbia of which you are the president," the students said.
The prosecution warns that the protest was not registered
The higher public prosecutor's office in Valjevo made an announcement on the eve of August 14, when a protest was announced in that city, urging citizens to respect the Constitution and laws and to report any organized gathering to the competent authorities in advance, reports N1.
The Prosecutor's Office announces that organized gatherings in public space can only be held if they are registered in accordance with the law, while the organizers of the gathering must be specific persons with a first and last name, who, in addition to registering the gathering, are also obliged to provide police service.
The Prosecution indicates that a large number of announcements of gatherings in Valjevo for Friday, August 14 - when a gathering is planned on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the protest in that city when the police brutally beat the citizens - have appeared on social networks and in some media in recent days.
"The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Valjevo informs the public that these announcements are shared by individuals or groups who have not registered any kind of gathering," the announcement states.
The story of the beaten Jovica from Valjevo: "They came to kill"
In the announcement, special reference is made to the events of August last year, when, as stated by the Prosecutor's Office, a "serious violation of public order and peace" occurred during an unannounced meeting in Valjevo.
On that occasion, according to the Prosecutor's Office, several policemen and citizens were injured, while the premises of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, the Misdemeanor Court, the Police Administration and the City Administration were broken into and set on fire.
However, the prosecution nowhere mentioned the brutal beating of citizens by the police.
The High Public Prosecutor's Office says that they do not question the right of citizens to protest, but appeal that this right be exercised in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Serbia.
"Without encroaching on the inviolable right to protest, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Valjevo appeals to all citizens to respect the Constitution and the Law of Serbia and to report their gatherings to the competent authorities, as well as to refrain from any form of disruption of public order and peace," the statement said.
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