Two professors and the dean of the Faculty of Medicine were arrested in Novi Sad on Wednesday night. The Academic Plenum considers it "bare repression"
Professor of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad Miloš Jocić, who was a security guard at the intersection blockade on Tuesday brought, the portal 021.rs announced. The reason for the arrest is unknown.
His colleague Vladimir Mihić confirmed that Professor Jocić was taken into custody.
"He was a security guard at that incident in Novi Naselje and told us yesterday that he was called as a witness. He was there in the station, they interrogated him for two and a half hours. He left without a lawyer because he was called as a witness. However, after two and a half hours they filed a misdemeanor report and ordered him to be detained, because it was already the middle of the night and then they did not bring him to the magistrate for misdemeanors, but took him to Bač in custody," says professor Mihić.
Professor Jocic's husbands said that they would let her know when he would be brought before the magistrate.
As a security guard at the intersection, he calmed down a man who tried to break through the blockade, explained Mihić.
Academy of Arts assistant Veroljub Naumović was also detained. The police took him out of the apartment without a warrant, with a vague explanation that they "wanted to talk" about the alleged violation of public order and peace.
However, he was released from custody.
"They didn't question me. They accuse me of 'very disturbing' the people because I took down the Serbian flag from the SNS headquarters. I didn't take it down, so I didn't even sign any document that they submitted to me. That flag of the Republic of Serbia was taken down by the students, because the thugs came out from there and broke our student's jaw," Naumović told N1.
Arbitrary arrests
"We emphasize that the detainee did not participate in any incident in the previous days. We perceive his detention as part of a wider campaign of intimidation of activists and free-thinking citizens. We demand his immediate release and an immediate end to the arbitrary arrests and pressure on the members of the Novi Sad Choir and the Free University. This is an attack on the freedom, knowledge and dignity of all of us. We will not remain silent," the Choirs announced.
Professor Mihić says that although it sounds unrelated, it seems that these are all very connected cases.
"It seems that someone has decided to show a little more force than before. What personally disturbs me is that those who are policing, that is, preventing conflicts, are now being detained. I really don't understand that, because the police very rarely react until there is a more serious incident. I guess that should mean that we should let a serious incident happen in order for the police to react," Mihić points out.
Professor Jocic has been patrolling the streets since December and "has de-escalated a million situations", so he is 100 percent sure that he is experienced enough not to do anything that could be understood as the use of force.
"It is obvious that this is a message that we should be careful and not even go out into the street because we don't know who will arrest us tomorrow," emphasizes Mihić.
"Danas" announced that the policeman who intervened at the same intersection on Tuesday against a man who tried to break through the citizens' blockade is threatened with suspension.
Namely, after the policeman intervened on the man who attacked him, the Internal Control Sector (SUK) arrived at the Novo naselje police station, where the policeman works, and took a statement from the policeman, and now he is threatened with suspension.
Citizens send: At the intersection near GSP, a man insulted and attacked citizens during the blockade. He also attacked the policemen, so he was taken into custody.#Novi Sad pic.twitter.com/DbNT6ahdDP
- Radio 021 (@ Radio021) June 10, 2025
The head of the Novi Sad police, Nevenko Marić, came to the station together with the SUK, who was particularly interested in this case, and according to sources from the MUP, it is not a practice for the head of the PU to come together with the SUK.
An unknown man who appeared during the blockade of the intersection near GSP, first argued with the gathered citizens, and then hit a plainclothes police officer. A plainclothes police officer tried to calm him down and introduced himself. The man then punched the policeman.
Shortly after the incident, the man was detained by the police.
Regime tabloids announced on Wednesday morning that the dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad, Snežana Brkić, was taken into custody, along with some other employees, allegedly for increasing the professor's salary.
Academic plenum: The dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad was arrested, then released
Dean of Medicine faculty u Novi Sad Snezana Brkić and five other people were arrested, the regime tabloid "Kurir" reported early Wednesday morning.
However, she was released in the meantime, N1 announced.
In the action in which Brkić was arrested this morning, a total of six people were detained who are suspected of "increasing the salaries of professors in violation of all rules".
Portal Vojvodina live during April received official confirmation from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad that a criminal complaint was filed against Prof. Dr. Snežane Brkić, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, and other persons, before the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, Special Department for Suppression of Corruption.
The application was submitted due to an organized strike at the Faculty of Medicine, violation of the right to work of students and their parents, as well as suspicion of abuse of official position, the Vojvodina live portal reported at the time.
Pressure on the academic community
The academic plenum points out that it considers the arrest of three professors of the University of Novi Sad in less than 24 hours to be naked repression and retaliation by the authorities for supporting student demands, portal 021 reports.
As stated in the announcement, the two professors who were the guards at the blockades of the choirs in Novi Sad on Tuesday were arrested first, and then the dean.
"The tabloids immediately announced that it was due to the higher salaries paid at the faculty. We believe that this moment was not chosen by chance for her arrest, because the only faculty that is on strike at the University of Novi Sad is the Faculty of Medicine, and the dean has supported the students' demands from the beginning," stated the Academic Plenum.
All arrests by the authorities are aimed at intimidating university professors, but also all rebellious citizens of Serbia, it says further.
"However, we are sure that this will not scare the professors, but will only further strengthen their support for the justified demands of the students," the announcement concludes.
Source: 021.rs / Danas
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