Aleksandar Vucic is the president of Serbia. He has held sway over the country in various posts since 2012. Before that he was a powerful figure under Slobodan Milosevic, who led Serbia during the Balkan wars in the 1990s and was overthrown in 2000. In the past few years he has brushed off several waves of protest.
His ruling party is a patronage machine that gives supporters jobs in exchange for votes and controls all the mainstream media. All terrestrial broadcasters are state-controlled or owned by friends of the president. He describes uncomplimentary coverage as "pure terrorism". The party won a snap election in 2023. Mr Vucic accuses student protesters of being paid by foreign countries and has talked of a mysterious coup attempt.
Vladan Djokic, Belgrade University's rector, negotiated with the government over student protests and faced criminal charges relating to university closures.
The good die young -- because they see it's no use living if you've got to be good.