Lawyer Accuses Serbian Officials of Twisting Facts in Student Attack Case

The lawyer representing a student who suffered a broken jaw has accused Serbian officials of deliberately distorting facts to shift blame and portray the perpetrators as victims. Srđan Hromiš, legal counsel for student Ana Vučak, whose jaw was reportedly broken in two places by SNS activists in January of last year, criticized recent statements by former Prime Minister Miloš Vučević. Vučević claimed Vučak was "sturdy," "strong," and had engaged with SNS supporters herself, suggesting her injury occurred when she fell and hit her chin, and that a baseball bat was not used. Hromiš described these assertions as a "malicious distortion of facts and presenting the attackers as victims." "We have seen this before, a complete relativization of truth and violence," Hromiš stated, referencing past instances where President Aleksandar Vučić and Vučević presented the four individuals later pardoned as "heroes" and "good guys" who were allegedly attacked. He countered that these students were simply passing by the SNS premises when they were attacked, and the narrative of them attacking the SNS office is untrue. Hromiš highlighted that the prosecution's investigation, supported by medical documentation and forensic expert reports, established that Ana Vučak sustained severe bodily injuries, including a fractured jaw and teeth. He dismissed the narrative of her injury being from a fall as malicious, especially given she was reportedly seen at a protest days after the incident. The lawyer emphasized that the criminal proceedings against the four accused, which were public and widely covered by media, confirmed the severity of Vučak's injuries.