Serbian students demand justice after fatal awning collapse
Euronews has spoken to five students across Serbia who are part of the Western Balkan country’s protest movement demanding justice after the deadly Novi Sad train station awning collapse killed 15 and injured two.
“I was under that roof about an hour before it collapsed,” 22-year-old Branislav, a student from Novi Sad said, remembering the day when the concrete awning of a railway station in Serbia’s second-largest city that collapsed on 1 November, killing 15 people and severely injuring two.
“I attended the first big protest afterwards, some 27,000 people were on the street,” Branislav said.
Many blame the awning’s collapse on corruption, which led to sloppy renovation work on the station. The renovation, being part of a broader deal with Chinese state companies involved in several infrastructure projects in Serbia, raised further eyebrows and raised questions about adherence to standards, too.
Although the protests were peaceful and aimed at demanding justice for the victims, “the police started using tear gas and beating up protesters,” Branislav recalled. Random arrests, including his own, soon followed the violence, he added.
“Some activists were detained. Some were sentenced to prison, while others were given 30-day sentences, but they were later released after about 20 days, because no (proof of) criminal activity was found”, Branislav explained.
“They accused me of tearing a Serbian flag, but there was no evidence,” he claimed.
After four hours, he was released without charge, as video footage showed he was not involved in anything illegal. “The protests continued from that day onward,” Branislav said.
At the protests in Novi Sad over the following weekends, roads were blocked, and protesters painted red handprints on buildings across the city, symbolising the blood of the victims on the government’s hands.
Additionally, 15 minutes of silence — one minute for each life — were held at different locations across Serbia every Friday, starting at 11:52 am, the exact time the canopy collapsed.
‘We did nothing wrong’
On 22 November, almost a month after the canopy collapse, faculty and students from Belgrade’s Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) observed 15 minutes of silence for the victims.
“Our students and professors were attacked when they walked out onto the streets to pay their respects. Some people, posing as angry drivers, verbally and physically attacked them,” Vanja, now representative of the FDU students, told Euronews.
“We did nothing wrong to be attacked. How can you observe 15 minutes of silence other than silently,” Vanja asked.
In response, students at the FDU formed a plenum and voted to initiate a blockade, demanding their attackers be identified and prosecuted. Other faculties joined the blockade, introducing their own demands regarding how the authorities should handle the Novi Sad awning collapse.
On 26 November, the FDU student plenum made its first request: that the Ministry of Internal Affairs file a criminal report against those responsible for the assaults. Two weeks later, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office identified five individuals said to be involved in the attacks and named them in Serbian media.
The suspects include officials and activists of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and an employee of the municipality of New Belgrade.
ADVERTISEMENTAlongside the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, other universities drafted additional demands, which were widely adopted. Emilija, a student from the Faculty of Philosophy in the southern Serbian city of Niš, said students demanded the release of all documents about the canopy’s reconstruction.
“We want confirmation that the reconstruction was done right, and that everything was legally documented. They can claim all day that it was done properly, but we want proof,” the 20-year-old told Euronews.
Democracy thriving at Serbia’s universities
The students insist on their movement being run democratically. Every decision is voted on, explained Pavle, a student at both the University of Belgrade and the University of Kragujevac.
“We have a principle where everyone has the right to vote, everyone can be heard and say what they want and think about every aspect of the situation,” he added.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to Pavle, the students want to oppose the system they live in. “Instead of anti-democracy, we want to prioritise democracy and prove it works.”
Additionally, to vote on every decision, all five students Euronews has spoken to have confirmed that there is not one leader at any university or within the movement. “There are no leaders — just all of us,” Branislav said.
“Democracy is one of the main reasons we are all here, because democracy in Serbia unfortunately (either) died a long time ago or it’s not done properly,” reckoned Emilija. “We want to show everyone that democracy can thrive if implemented properly,” she concluded.
In addition to their commitment to democracy, students at different faculties and universities are collaborating for their cause. As Vanja explained, after students demanded the renovation documents, the government released only some, which students from Belgrade’s Faculty of Architecture then examined and verified.
ADVERTISEMENT“They are the only students who are capable of reading and interpreting these documents,” Vanja said, adding that the students have found the documents shared by the government to be incomplete and, therefore, mean the authorities failed to meet their demands.
Emilija explained that the Faculty of Law at the University of Niš also reviews the government’s documents. “They tell us when something’s not right.”
‘Paid by the West’
After the blockades and protests gained significant traction at Serbia’s universities, claims have been made that the students are allegedly “paid by the West“ — meaning, intentionally funded by foreign governments to stir discontent. All five students Euronews has spoken to strongly deny those claims.
“None of the ongoing protests in Serbia are connected to any political party,” confirmed Emilija. “We are not associated with any political party whatsoever. We are a community of students, citizens and people that want to walk freely in their own country.”
ADVERTISEMENT“Nobody wants to be the next prime minister or parliament member,” added Branislav. “Everyone just wants their demands met: an end to corruption, and the rule of law.”
For Anđela, a student of the Faculty of Music in Niš, the blockades and protests are simply fighting for their fundamental human rights. “That’s neither special nor complicated”, she said.
‘Rationally scared’ of intimidation
A recent Amnesty International report revealed that Serbian authorities are using advanced phone spyware and mobile forensic products to target journalists, activists, and other individuals as part of a covert surveillance campaign.
The report highlights how Cellebrite’s forensic tools and the NoviSpy Android spyware are being used by the Serbian police and the Security Information Agency (BIA) to extract data from devices and secretly infect them during detentions or interviews.
ADVERTISEMENTThe news of these methods intimidates many protesters but won’t stop them from fighting for their cause.
“We are rationally scared,” explained Anđela. She added that her university in Niš has a strict policy about who can enter faculty buildings. When it comes to walking the streets, it can be a little scary,” she admitted. “But, in the end, it’s not about us as individuals but our country.”
Despite fears of being verbally or physically attacked, all five protesters, Branislav, Emilija, Vanja, Pavle and Anđela, fear for the state of their country more than for the potential repercussions from their government.
They want basic security, such as standing inside a public building without fearing for their lives due to negligence.
ADVERTISEMENT“I hope that we will live in a country where we can walk under a roof without being scared of it falling on us. Right now, we are all standing under an awning like the one that collapsed in Novi Sad,” concluded Emilija.
On 30 December, 13 people, including former Transport Minister Goran Vesić, were arrested on suspicion of causing the fatal railway roof collapse in Novi Sad in November. They were arrested and charged with serious offences related to general safety and improper construction work.
The protesters Euronews has spoken to do not see this as an answer to their demands either, and plan to continue their blockade.
Euronews has reached out to the Serbian government for comment about student demands, but has not received a response by the time of publication.
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