Subotica Mayor Stevan Bakić convicted of insulting university dean

The Higher Court in Subotica has issued a final verdict convicting the Mayor of Subotica, Stevan Bakić, for the continuous criminal offense of insulting Aleksandar Čučković, the dean of the Faculty of Economics in Subotica.

Bakić was ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 dinars. The ruling follows statements made by the mayor during press conferences in late 2024 and early 2025, where he used derogatory terms to describe Čučković and the dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

The court rejected the defense's appeal, which argued that the remarks were protected as political speech or part of a legitimate interest. The judiciary ruled that using terms such as ‘bitanga’ (scoundrel/rascal) and ‘fukara’ (scum/lowlife) exceeds the boundaries of political expression and constitutes a personal attack intended to degrade the victim's reputation.