The car of David Gruhonjic, son of prominent journalist and university Professor Dinko Gruhonjic, was severely damaged in what appears to be a targeted attack in Novi Sad on Saturday night.
According to witnesses, three young men wearing balaclavas targeted a 2019 Skoda Octavia with Zagreb (Croatian) license plates. The attackers fled the scene when a witness approached them. David and Dinko Gruhonjic, along with several witnesses, have since provided statements to the police.
Eyewitnesses told the Beta news agency that the vandals appeared to know exactly which vehicle they were looking for, suggesting the attack was premeditated.
David Gruhonjic is a Serbian citizen currently living in Croatia, where he is a PhD student and staff member at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb. He has previously been the subject of smear campaigns by Serbian pro-government tabloids, which have accused him of working for the Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency.
The harassment escalated in early 2025 after Dinko Gruhonjic appealed to top Croatian officials, including the president and prime minister, seeking protection for David. This plea followed comments by the Serbian Ambassador to Croatia, Jelena Milic, and a subsequent article in the pro-regime tabloid Informer that labeled David a “target.”
“They linked our son to the Croatian intelligence service. These are heinous lies that directly endanger his safety,” Dinko Gruhonjic wrote in his letter to officials at the time.
David Gruhonjic, who was in Novi Sad for the weekend to visit family, said the vandalism could be a reaction to his Croatian plates, but noted it is likely a “continuation of the pressure and threats” his family has faced for years. “This event has deeply unsettled me and my family,” he said.
Dinko Gruhonjic, a professor and program director of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), expressed grave concern that the vandalism marks a shift toward direct physical threats.
“I fear for my family’s lives,” he told Beta.
Source: N1
