Professor of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad Miloš Jocić, who was a security guard at the intersection blockade on Tuesday, brought was detained, the 021.rs portal 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.
A professor of the Academy of Arts was also detained. As announced by the Citizens' Assemblies of Novi Sad, 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.
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.
Photo: 021.rsArrest of attacker in Novi Sad
Police officer faces suspension
"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 Department of Internal Control (SUK) arrived at the Novo naselje police station, where the policeman works, and took a statement from the policeman, and according to "Danasa" information, he is now threatened with suspension.
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.
Source: 021.rs / Danas
