Original article (in Serbian) was published on 29/1/2026; Author: Ivan Subotić
One year ago, the Serbian public was shaken by the news of the attack by activists of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on a group of students in Novi Sad, during which the jaw of a student of the Academy of Arts, Ana Vučak, was broken. After the attack, SNS activists were arrested and detained, the government fell, and the mayor of Novi Sad resigned. However, a few months later, SNS activists were declared heroes in the ruling circles who were only defending their premises, and President Aleksandar Vučić soon pardoned them. In this manner, the portal NS Uživo (NS live) marked the anniversary of the breaking of the student’s jaw with an article stating that this case was faked, adding to that the untruth that Ana spoke at a large protest in Novi Sad on February 1, three days after the attack.
The articleof the NS Uživo portal was published with an illustration showing a photo of Ana Vučak, under which is the text “a student from Novi Sad has a broken jaw” over which the word “lie” is superimposed. The illustration also features the logo of the Center for Social Stability, a pro-government NGO known for targeting students, university professors, activists, and independent journalists. Although the entire, unsigned text is written in a tone full of hatred and woven from manipulations, one paragraph, which describes the events after the attack on the students, stands out for its unscrupulousness:
“Only three days later, when the three-day blockade of all three bridges in Novi Sad began (February 1-3) and the city was completely paralyzed, “student Ana with a broken jaw” spoke at the blockade celebration and orgy on one of the bridges. She spoke loudly, hissing hatred from a pumped-up lack of awareness, not making a single verbal gaffe. Certainly, the jaw listened to her well, as if it was not broken.”
Proof that the student whose jaw was broken that day was not among the speakers at the protest can be found in the recordings of the student media Blokada info. Three recordings (1, 2, 3) of a total duration of almost 24 hours show the speeches that were held during the protest, as well as numerous other testimonies of citizens and students. Among the speakers were: Bojana Vunturišević, Ivan Ivanović, Zoran Kesić, Jelena Obućina, Mina Đikanović, Rale Milenković, Gabor Pongo, Srđan Kovačević, Jelena Stupljanin, Ana Ferik-Ivanović, Zoran Đajić, Živa Stanojević, Milan Kovačević, Ksenija Mitrović, and presenters of the morning program Mental exercise, some male and female students, but not Ana Vučak. In the broadcast of Blokade info, a female student answered the reporter’s question “how is Ana now” with “Ana is fine now” and that “she is at home, with her family”.
Lawyer Srđan Hromiš: The text of NS Uživo is full of spin and manipulation
Ana Vučak’s lawyer, Srđan Hromiš, confirmed in a statement for Tragač that she did not speak at the protest on February 1 and assessed that the text of NS Uživo was “full of spin and manipulation”. He also announced that on Ana’s behalf, he will most likely request denials from the media and file a lawsuit against him, because in this case, Ana is the one who is the victim. Commenting on NS Uživo’s writing, he states that in the court process, while it was going on, it was confirmed that Ana’s jaw was broken, as well as several teeth.
Hromiš adds that Aleksandar Vučić and the Ministry of Justice are to blame for the fact that the proceedings have not been completed, as if a complaint was filed with the Constitutional Court regarding the pardon of SNS activists, and a petition concerning this case was filed with the European Court of Human Rights. He also explains that the text incorrectly stated that SNS activists were charged with an act qualified as attempted murder, and that the act involved was violent behavior and the infliction of serious physical injuries.
When did Ana Vučak speak publicly?
Ana Vučak’s first public address took place only four months after the attack by SNS activists at the “Women in Defense of Life in Serbia” protest in Novi Sad. On that occasion, Ana began her speech with the following words:
“I am not speaking quietly today. This is the first time I am giving a speech and today I am not speaking quietly, even though my jaw was broken in January. Today I am speaking clearly – not as a victim, but as a woman who survived, as a woman who decided not to be silent”
The student of the Academy of Arts also testified about the attack by SNS activists and the injuries she sustained in the documentary Scars of Freedom, which is available on YouTube. Regardless of all this, NS Uživo, as well as the portals RTV Pančevo, Sremske vesti, Yueco, and the Instagram page centralinfo.rs transmitted an unsigned text in which her injuries were denied, and a lie that she spoke at a protest in Novi Sad just three days after she received them was repeated.
