Danas: Novi Sad Emergency Department head dismissed for supporting students

Nikolic, a vascular surgeon at the Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, has been transferred to another position, reported Danas.

His wife, Marijana Basta Nikolic, who also works at the Clinical Center and, like her husband, serves as a professor at the University of Novi Sad’s Faculty of Medicine, have been vocal supporters of the student demonstrations from the outset, sources told Danas.

Authorities were simply waiting for the right moment to remove Nikolic from his director position, as the couple has been on a “blacklist” for months.

“Doctors who backed the students are facing pressure, and this is just the fallout. They probably held off on dismissing him right after the canopy collapse incident because of the injured patients, to avoid creating a stir. Now, they’ve decided the timing’s right,” a Clinical Center employee told Danas.

On November 1 of last year, a concrete canopy collapsed at the recently renovated Novi Sad Train Station, resulting in the deaths of 16 people and severe injuries to one.

Nikolic declined to comment on the matter or speak to the media.