Novi Sad Gymnasium Principal Arrested Over Court Order
Prosecutors in Backa Palanka suspect the Jovina Gymnasium principal, R. S. (1964), of blocking four teachers from working despite court rulings. He faces up to 48 hours in custody.
The principal of the Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj Gymnasium in Novi Sad, R. S. (1964), was arrested on the evening of October 28 on the order of a public prosecutor in Backa Palanka. He was ordered held for up to 48 hours, and according to parents, he was still at a police station this morning.
Prosecutors suspect him of four counts of failing to enforce a court decision under Article 340, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. He is presumed innocent until a final verdict.
What is the Jovina Gymnasium principal accused of?
According to the prosecutor’s office, R. S., as the responsible person, refused to carry out final court rulings concerning four teachers at the school, who as a result could not do their jobs or teach classes. The prosecutors also set out what led to the arrest:
“After the competent court lifted the suspensions, he was ordered to allow the teachers to resume their posts immediately and without delay, which he refused to do.”
The case was not handled by prosecutors in Novi Sad. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad transferred territorial jurisdiction from the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad to the one in Backa Palanka. The suspect is to be brought there and questioned within 48 hours.
The Interior Ministry (MUP) also confirmed the arrest. In its statement, officers in Novi Sad, working with the Backa Palanka prosecutors, arrested R. S. on suspicion that he did not comply with a ruling of the Basic Court in Novi Sad ordering teachers at a secondary school to return to work. He will be brought before the competent prosecutor along with a criminal complaint.
What led to the arrest?
The dispute at the school has dragged on for months. On May 21, 2026, five teachers were suspended over a strike and participation in protests. The principal said at the time that this was not retaliation but his legal duty, as he was acting on an order from the education inspectorate after an extraordinary inspection.
Literature teacher Rima Grujic, one of the four whose return to work is at issue, says court rulings on the matter have existed since July or August. She also claims the principal tried to stop her and a colleague from teaching classes in the groups they had taught before. For Grujic, the arrest is satisfaction that came late. She told FoNet:
“A court decision simply has to be respected, and the fact that he did not respect such a decision for months was the result of the levers of power he had.”
She said the teachers will show up at school tomorrow: “We will try to help the school function tomorrow as if nothing had happened, so that classes are held.” The staff, she said, supports school psychologist Maja Milutinovic, who has applied in the still-open competition for principal.
What does Ana Brnabic say?
Ana Brnabic, acting president of Serbia and an official of the SNS party, reacted to the arrest the same evening. On the social network X she wrote that she demands an explanation from the authorities:
“I demand that the competent authorities clearly explain why this measure was applied and whether all citizens are treated equally in comparable cases. Enforcing court decisions is an obligation, but every deprivation of liberty must have a concrete legal justification.”
In the same post she wrote: “As a member of the SNS, I insist on equal rights and equal standards for everyone.” She concluded: “This is a dangerous precedent and yet more proof of revolutionary terror, not the rule of law.” She opened the post with the line “Captured judiciary in the service of revolutionary terror!” and announced that the SNS would soon speak out on even more serious information that, she claims, it has. The prosecutor’s office did not respond to those claims in its statement.
The SNS lost the parliamentary elections on October 25, after 14 years in power.
What do parents and the union want?
This morning, parents of students handed Provincial Secretary for Education Robert Otot a request for the immediate dismissal of the principal and the appointment of an acting one. They propose school psychologist Maja Milutinovic. They are also demanding the removal of the temporary School Board. According to what parents said after the meeting, Otot told them he would give his consent and appoint an acting principal as soon as the education minister dismisses the principal.
Parent Goran Radojev described the situation at the school:
“The deputy principal did not show up, nobody from the School Board showed up, specifically Professor Letic has gone on sick leave in the meantime, so there is complete lawlessness at the Jovina Gymnasium.”
According to Radojev, the four teachers whom the principal suspended and the court reinstated came to the school this morning and asked to be formally assigned to classes.
Members of the Independent Union of Education Workers of Vojvodina at the gymnasium called in a statement for the principal’s immediate dismissal:
“Such a person must not be at the head of an educational institution, nor anywhere near children.”
The Jovina Gymnasium is the oldest secondary school in Novi Sad and has more than 1,000 students.
