A YEAR OF PROTESTS IN SERBIA – by Aleksandar Mijailović EDYN Features

A Year of Protests in Serbia

Written by Aleksandar Mijailović Member of EDYN Serbia Lawyer

On November 1st last year, the canopy of the main railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. The government’s first reaction was to lie — claiming that the structure hadn’t been renovated as part of the €16 million project. The second reaction was to remove all evidence from the site within ten hours of the tragedy. And when citizens took to the streets demanding accountability, the authorities staged an attack on the City Hall in Novi Sad, blamed peaceful protesters, and unleashed police violence in an attempt to scare people back into silence.

Soon after the first demonstrations, documents surfaced showing that only €3.5 million had actually been spent on the reconstruction, while the remaining €12.5 million allegedly disappeared into the pockets of regime-linked businessmen and ruling party members.

Following attacks by allegedly regime-backed hooligans on students and professors at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, students across Serbia organized, shutting down universities and taking over the protests. Their demands were simple: prosecute those responsible for the violence against students, and make public all documents related to the station’s reconstruction — to reveal whose corruption cost 16 lives. The government not only ignored these demands, but President Aleksandar Vučić even told his supporters that it was “perfectly fine” to run over students with their cars if they blocked the road. And that’s exactly what happened — more than once.

Over the past months, students have marched across Serbia, carrying the light of freedom and spreading information to people who have no access to independent media, since almost all outlets are under government control. Their message remained the same: tell us who is responsible for the corruption that killed 16 people. They even cycled all the way to Strasbourg to speak directly to EU institutions about what’s happening in our country. On March 15th, nearly half a million people gathered in Belgrade to support the students. In response, the authorities used a sonic weapon against the crowd — despite it being banned in Serbia.

Meanwhile, ruling-party members have continued to assault students with baseball bats and fireworks. The police beat citizens with batons, fired tear gas, and at times even used the prohibited CN gas. Prosecutors and judges have launched absurd proceedings against protesters, imposing detentions with no legal basis. Today, Serbia has political prisoners — and some students have been forced into exile.

Now, students have one single demand: early elections, as the only way to stop a corrupt government.

Students come from all sides of the political spectrum — left, right, pro-EU, anti-EU — but they share one common goal: to build a democratic and free country.

It’s been almost a year since the canopy collapse, and we still don’t know who took 16 innocent lives.

On November 1st, the largest commemoration in our country will take place in Novi Sad — a reminder to those in power that we still demand accountability, and that we will not give up.

See you in the streets.

Thank you to all those who continue to support the students and stand up for justice and freedom in Serbia.

EDYN Features are short articles where our members share their thoughts on key issues like youth engagement, disinformation, democracy, EU enlargement, and conflict resolution. The goal is to spark conversations, highlight different perspectives, and to help us all think more deeply about what’s happening in the world.

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