Students and professor from Berlin attacked near Belgrade park over photos

Students and a professor from Humboldt University in Berlin reportedly experienced a frightening encounter near Pionirski Park in Belgrade, Serbia. The group, visiting for a study trip, found their exploration of the capital marred by aggression from unidentified men.

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We were passing by and thought how beautiful the parliament building is, we wanted to take a picture, so we approached the fence near the park. I took out my phone to take a picture, and then a man came out of the park, said access was prohibited, and pushed us.

According to reports, the incident occurred as the students approached the fence of the park near the Parliament building, intending to take photographs. One student recounted that a man emerged from the park, stated access was prohibited, and pushed them. He then demanded the student delete photos from her phone, attempting to take the device and repeatedly saying, "Delete, delete."

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He said: 'Delete, delete.' I asked him - what should I delete? It's my phone. But he continued, he allowed himself to touch my phone and repeated 'Delete'. There was nothing there, he was forcing me to delete photos of the parliament and some failed, blurry photos of that place.

The professor also described being grabbed by the arm and asked for his camera, even though he wasn't actively photographing. He stated the man acted aggressively and insisted on taking the camera or deleting images. The man reportedly spoke poor English, gestured towards police sirens, and threatened to call the police. He also filmed the professor with his own phone at close range while shouting.

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It was disturbing, then he approached me and said to give him my camera. I had the camera in my hand, but I wasn't taking any pictures. Then he grabbed my arm. I said: 'I don't want to, this is my camera.' He wasn't behaving normally, but as if he had the right to do that, he kept repeating: 'Delete, give me the camera.' I had to change my way of communicating, I said: 'This is not okay!'

Despite seeing police officers nearby, the students and professor hesitated to report the incident. They felt unsure if it was safe to seek help from the police, given the aggressor's behavior and his apparent familiarity with the officers. The experience left the German visitors with fear and confusion, overshadowing their academic work and their impression of Belgrade as a safe European metropolis.

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He was speaking very poor English, showing sirens and repeating: 'Police, police.' Besides that, that large man started filming me with his phone. He pointed it at my face, filmed me, shouted at me while forcing me to delete pictures, he filmed me without my consent.