Students Attacked in Visegrad, Banja Luka Visit Canceled

The Students Win convoy’s journey through Republika Srpska, whose departure from Bijeljina Srpske Novine reported earlier, turned into a string of incidents over four days. In Brcko, a misdemeanor case was opened against two organizers. In Doboj, representatives of the initiative were taken in for questioning before the announced rally even began. And in Visegrad, a man tried to grab a banner from students gathered near the bridge. The visit to Banja Luka, scheduled for Friday, September 25, was called off without an official explanation.

The “Student in Every Village” campaign kicked off on September 22 from Bijeljina, with students from the Students Win list aiming to present their platform ahead of Serbia’s parliamentary election, set for October 25. Under the original plan, the convoy was to pass through Brcko, Trebinje, Doboj, Visegrad, Banja Luka, Bratunac, and Zvornik, all towns in Republika Srpska and the Brcko District.

Misdemeanor Case in Brcko, Police Interview in Doboj

The first trouble came on the afternoon of September 23 at the Youth Square in Brcko, where students set up a stand and handed out leaflets. Brcko District police determined that the organizers had not registered the gathering, as required under Article 11 of the Law on Peaceful Assembly, and opened a misdemeanor case against two foreign nationals before the Brcko District Basic Court.

“Applying the provisions of the Law on Peaceful Assembly, two individuals who organized the activity were identified, and it was determined that, contrary to Article 11 of the aforementioned law, they had not notified police of the peaceful assembly,” Brcko District police said in a statement.

Police added that the gathering was neither prevented nor broken up. In Trebinje, according to earlier reports, municipal police barred the students from setting up a stand, so the opposition List for Justice and Order, led by Nebojsa Vukanovic, offered them a space to speak with residents instead.

The following day, September 24, Republika Srpska Interior Ministry police took several representatives of the initiative to a station for questioning, doing so before the gathering in Doboj had even started. According to Aleksandar Jokic, a lawyer from Banja Luka who made himself available to the students, they spent about three hours there.

“In Doboj, the students were taken in before the rally even began. They hadn’t even put up the banner, the transparent, when police took them straight to the station for what they called an informative interview,” Jokic told the Buka news portal.

“What happened in Brcko and Doboj are blatant examples of the abuse of rights and authority by Republika Srpska institutions, and of blocking peaceful assembly,” Jokic said.

Attack Near the Bridge in Visegrad

That same day, September 24, near the bridge in Visegrad, several men approached a group of students. One grabbed their banner, while another questioned them about the list’s platform and about Ratko Mladic, the convicted war criminal who died in The Hague. Police arrived at the scene; no one was injured.

Jokic said that, 20 hours after the incident, the attackers still had not been taken into custody, a pace he contrasted with how quickly police acted against the students themselves in Doboj.

“Hundreds haven’t come to Republika Srpska here, not even dozens, just two or three students at a time,” Jokic said, adding that he did not want to speculate about who was behind the pressure on the initiative.

“I wouldn’t want to guess whether someone in Serbia ordered this or whether it’s the idea of our own political elites,” he said.

The Banja Luka Human Rights House sharply condemned the conduct of police in Brcko and Doboj, as well as the attack in Visegrad, and called for an independent investigation.

“Police authorities in the Brcko District and in Doboj have a legal obligation to act solely in the service of the safety of residents and visitors, respecting the highest human rights standards,” the organization said in a statement.

Why Was the Banja Luka Visit Canceled?

No official reason was given for the cancellation. The visit had been scheduled for Friday, September 25, in two sessions, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Instagram account “bl.studentizastudente” told followers in a brief message that “tomorrow’s gathering is canceled,” without further explanation.

That same day, activists from the list announced on Instagram that they were suspending the campaign in towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We faced obstruction and police conduct, as well as local provocateurs,” they wrote in the post.

“We are witnessing the fact that the levers of a mafia style regime reach across borders as well,” they added.

Residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina who hold Serbian citizenship are also eligible to vote in Serbia’s election. Between 2011 and 2022 alone, Serbia issued around 180,000 such citizenship documents, which gives those people the right to vote in Serbia’s election.

Whether the Students Win convoy will continue on to the remaining towns of Bratunac and Zvornik before October 25 remains an open question for now.