SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: December 04, 2025

Attack Types: Loss of Position

Institution(s):University of Belgrade

Region & Country:Europe | Serbia

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On December 4, 2025, the acting Dean of the Council of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Belgrade suspended the secretary of the faculty, Marija Radovanović. The suspension was reportedly in retaliation for a written report Radovanović submitted to the Ministry of Education challenging the legality of the former Dean’s dismissal.

In September 2025, a government appointee to the University’s Faculty Council dismissed Dean Tatjana Simić. Following Simić’s removal, Radovanović filed a report with the Minister of Education, the Education Inspectorate, University Rector Vladan Đokić, and the Electoral Council, expressing concern regarding the circumstances of the dismissal. In response, acting Dean Nataša Milić notified Radovanović of a three-month suspension, citing failure to receive permission from “competent faculty bodies” before filing the report

Employees of the Faculty of Medicine have condemned the suspension, maintaining that Radovanović acted in accordance with the law.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the suspension of a university administrator for their peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression—conduct that is expressly protected under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. University authorities and states should refrain from retaliating against university personnel for their free expression, so long as it is undertaken peacefully and responsibly. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such actions politically motivated dismissals aimed at restricting or retaliating against such activity undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.danas.rs/vesti/drustvo/suspendovana-sekretarka-medicinskog-fakulteta-u-beogradu/
https://n1info.rs/vesti/sekretarka-medicinskog-fakulteta-koja-je-pisala-ministarstvu-o-nezakonitoj-smeni-dekanke-dobila-upozorenje-pred-otkaz/
https://nova.rs/vesti/drustvo/sekretarka-prijavila-nezakonitu-smenu-dekanke-medicinskog/
https://med.bg.ac.rs/?p=38654&script=lat
https://nova.rs/vesti/drustvo/poslusajte-kako-je-marko-lens-vikao-na-sekretarku-medicinskog/