The "Index is for Students" protest ended tonight at around 22pm in Novi Sad, Serbia, and during the protest at least three people were injured when they were physically attacked by supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
The attack took place in front of the Serbian National Theater (SNP), where a ceremonial academy was held tonight to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of Matica Srpska.
As a Beta news agency reporter saw on the spot, a young man had his head injured from the blows, a girl had her arm injured, and journalist Žarko Bogosavljević was hit in the face and his phone was knocked out of his hand.
Emergency services were on the scene and provided assistance to the injured.
Around 20 p.m., an incident occurred between protesters and regime supporters who were in front of the SNP.
First, large men surrounded a female student who was blowing a whistle, then a group of students tried to pass by the bars opposite the theater, but government supporters approached them and shouted that they were "Ustasha" and that they "should not speak to them in Croatian."
Then they physically attacked a student and journalist from the "Razglas News" portal, Žarko Bogosavljević.
Bogosavljević was hit in the face and his phone was knocked out of his hand, and the journalist managed to film the attacker.
Radio Free Europe (RFE) reports that eyewitnesses told reporters that a group of students and journalists were attacked by government supporters. They say a group of men dressed in black kicked, pushed and punched them in front of the SNP building, while the police initially failed to react.
The video, which shows part of the attack, was posted on Instagram by students in the blockade.
Veljko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy, was hit in the face several times, resulting in his head being smashed.
Colleagues managed to pull him to safety, and the ambulance team provided him with medical assistance.
"They jumped on my colleague, I jumped to defend him, then the men jumped on me, they cursed at me, they started pushing me, kicking me," said one student.
Journalist for the "Storyteller" portal Brankica Matić said that a group of students were in front of the theater. When people realized they were students, they called the police to escort them out, but the crowd began to attack them.
"When we journalists approached that group, they started attacking us too. It was very unpleasant, they pinned my colleague Žarko Bogosavljević against the wall," she said.
SNS supporters gathered in front of the SNP had previously insulted the citizens of Novi Sad and shouted "Ustasha" at them, and the citizens responded with "your hands are bloody".
Large groups of people have been visible in front of the SNP since the afternoon, and it was confirmed to journalists that employees of public and utility companies were ordered to "enhance the gathering" in front of the SNP.
Two groups of citizens were separated by police cordons in front of the SNP.
A cordon of police in full riot gear and several parked police cars prevented citizens and students from passing towards the SNP this evening, but some of the protesters managed to make their way near the theater.
Citizens read the lyrics of the poem "Boots" by the late academician Ljubomir Simović to police officers in Novi Sad.
The demonstrators also held up banners with the inscriptions "Lying tiger, hidden cobra", "Grandparents with students", "Miloš, we don't love you anymore", "Freedom is being defended in Novi Sad", "Police, thank you for not beating us".
During the early afternoon, a large number of police officers in riot gear entered the Novi Sad City Assembly building, which is near the aforementioned intersection.
Police cars were located at several locations around the city center.
Thousands of people gathered tonight on the campus of the University of Novi Sad, from where they set off on a protest walk to the city center.
The reason for the protest was the announcement that tonight at 20 p.m., Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić would speak at a ceremonial academy marking the 200th anniversary of the founding of Matica Srpska.
Vučić then said that he would not come to Novi Sad, "due to a trip to India," and his envoy, former Serbian Prime Minister and former Mayor of Novi Sad Miloš Vučević, spoke instead.
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Students and the Novi Sad Citizens' Associations have announced that they are not giving up on the protest, even though Vučić is not coming to Novi Sad.
The rally was called "Indeks is for Students", an allusion to Vučić's recent unannounced and very brief visit to Novi Sad, when he ate an Indeks sandwich at a fast food kiosk, visited the Homeland Fair for ten minutes, and then left the city.
It was his first visit to Novi Sad after the tragedy of November 1, 2024, and his arrival was secured by a strong police force.
The center of Novi Sad was dotted with red fist prints last night, a symbol of student protests that followed the collapse of a canopy from the renovated Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people.
Posters with messages against the regime were also pasted in several places.
The posters read "Square of Corruption Victims" and "The murderer always returns to the scene of the crime," along with a photo of the canopy and Vučić.
City utilities painted over most of the red fists during the morning.
Novi Sad portal "Razglas njuz" announced that a member of the Novi Sad Citizens' Association was detained for sticking stickers.
The stickers he had on him were taken away, and he was released after a few hours.
The Matica Srpska was founded in 1826 in Budapest, and in 1864 its headquarters were moved to Novi Sad, which was then part of the Habsburg Monarchy.
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