National Assembly President Ana Brnabic has issued a strong defense of Dr. Vesna Turkulov, an infectious disease specialist targeted by anti-government protesters, praising the clinician’s decades of service during multiple public health crises.
In a social media post, Brnabic highlighted Turkulov’s 30-year career at Vojvodina Clinical Center and her role as a full professor at Novi Sad Medical School’s infectious diseases department. The parliamentary speaker specifically referenced the physician’s frontline work during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Turkulov received national honors including a gold merit medal in 2020 and the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Order of Saint Sava in 2021.
“Who has the right to attack people who risked their lives for this country?” Brnabic wrote, framing recent criticism of Turkulov as part of broader protests targeting Serbian professionals. Her statement condemned demonstrators for allegedly harassing doctors, academics, and educators, asking: “Who are you to judge those who dedicated – and often risked – their lives for Serbia?”
Vesna Turkulov je više od 30 godina zaposlena u Kliničkom centru Vojvodine i redovni je profesor Medicinskog fakulteta, na katedri za infektivne bolesti. To je žena koja je bila na prvoj borbenoj liniji tokom panedmije COVID virusa. Rizikujući sopstveni život, ona je spasila… pic.twitter.com/v8hb9krnYy
— Ana Brnabic (@anabrnabic) May 2, 2025
