ANEM ALARM: Authorities urgently need to investigate the car break-in and protect the family of Dinko Gruhonjić.

ANEM calls on the relevant authorities, police, and prosecution to urgently investigate this drastic example of endangering safety, identify and prosecute the perpetrators, and ensure protection for Dinko Gruhonjić and his family, who are currently fearing for their safety.

David Gruhonjić's car was vandalized and severely damaged in Novi Sad last night. According to witnesses, the vehicle was smashed by three younger men wearing masks in the parking lot of the Liman neighborhood. It is a car with Zagreb license plates. The police arrived at the scene, and David and Dinko Gruhonjić, along with witnesses, later provided statements at the police station.

David Gruhonjić is employed at the Faculty of Transport Sciences in Zagreb, where he is also a second-year doctoral student. He is a citizen of Serbia with a work permit in Croatia. Previously, he had occasionally been targeted in campaigns by regime tabloids, which accused him of working for the Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency.

Dinko Gruhonjić wrote to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, President Zoran Milanović, and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Goran Grlić Radman in early 2025, seeking protection for his son David after the then Serbian ambassador to Croatia, Jelena Milić, negatively commented on Dinko Gruhonjić's interview with the Zagreb weekly Nacional on Facebook. Following this, the Serbian regime tabloid Informer published yet another attack on Gruhonjić, marking his son David as a target.

Regarding the destruction of his car, David Gruhonjić told the Beta agency that it is possible his vehicle was damaged due to the Zagreb license plates, but he also stated that it could be a continuation of the pressure and threats his family has been receiving, which have already been reported to the police multiple times.

Dinko Gruhonjić expressed doubt to the Beta agency that the vandalism on his son's car is a continuation of direct physical threats to his family's safety. "I express fear for the life of my family," Gruhonjić pointed out.

This unfortunate event occurred a few days after Dinko Gruhonjić reported to ANEM that he had noticed unknown individuals following and photographing him.

It is worth noting that Dinko Gruhonjić is daily and without any evidence targeted and falsely accused by representatives of the authorities, who, from podiums at rallies, in interviews on public services, and through tabloid witch hunts, attempt to link him to student protests and the status of Vojvodina.

"Dinko Gruhonjić and his family are under twenty-four-hour targeting and threats. The children of journalists are increasingly mentioned as targets of monstrous, pathological attacks. We appeal to government representatives to immediately cease targeting and negative campaigns against Dinko Gruhonjić and other dissenters, as such incendiary statements can have dangerous consequences for the safety of these individuals and their families, which we have now been able to witness. After violent vandalism against property, violence against lives is next. We must prevent anyone from journalists and their families from being harmed. Government representatives must be aware of their responsibility for every word spoken in public. We also call on the President of the Republic, as well as other public officials, to publicly condemn negative campaigns and witch hunts conducted by tabloids against certain individuals," stated Veran Matić, President of the ANEM Board of Directors, member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, and operator on the Safe Line for Journalists 0800 100 115.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "Improvement of the System Mechanism for Prevention and Response in Cases of Threats to the Safety and Life of Women and Men Journalists in Serbia" is conducted by ANEM in partnership with Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.

The OSCE Mission in Serbia has supported ANEM's project "24/7 SOS Hotline for Assistance to Journalists and Other Vulnerable Media Workers," within the EU-funded project "Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia."