The Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) strongly condemns the vandalism of the car belonging to David Gruhonjić, the son of our colleague, University of Novi Sad professor and NDNV program director Dinko Gruhonjić. The severe damage to the vehicle represents yet another in a series of security threats that cannot be viewed separately from the long-standing, organized campaign of persecution to which Dinko Gruhonjić has been exposed due to his journalistic, academic, and public engagement.

This attack on the family of Dinko Gruhonjić sends an unequivocal message that they are not safe in Serbia, for which the institutions and the ruling regime bear direct responsibility. For this reason, NDNV is compelled to organize self-protection and seek protection from international actors.

For years, Dinko Gruhonjić has been one of the most frequent targets of media smear campaigns, hate speech, threats, and public targeting in Serbia. Orchestrated campaigns have been conducted against him in certain tabloids and pro-government media outlets, where he has been systematically labeled as a “traitor,” an “enemy of the state,” and subjected to various forms of discrediting and dehumanizing attacks. Such a campaign intensified during 2024, when protests organized by far-right groups were directed against him, calls for lynching circulated on social networks, and threats of death and violence escalated to a level that caused concern among both domestic and international public.

Despite numerous warnings from journalists’ and human rights organizations, as well as reactions from international institutions, the atmosphere of impunity has continued. Instead of protection, we have witnessed further political and media targeting, creating an environment in which individuals may believe they are entitled to turn threats and hatred into concrete acts of violence.

It is highly alarming that pressure is increasingly being directed at members of his family as well. The attack on his son’s car constitutes an act of intimidation that sends a message that no one in the family is spared from the consequences of the hate campaign that has been waged against Dinko Gruhonjić for years.

We fear that the next step may be physical elimination.

It is clear that responsibility for such an atmosphere does not rest solely with the direct perpetrators. Responsibility also lies with all political actors who have for years been producing and spreading hatred against journalists, professors, activists, and other critical voices, by drawing targets on their backs and portraying them as legitimate objects of public persecution.

The Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina expresses full solidarity with Dinko and David Gruhonjić and states that violence, intimidation, and persecution will not silence those who stand for professional journalism, human rights, and democratic values.

Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina
Novi Sad, 21 June 2026