Serbia: Arrests after protests over the tragedy in Novi Sad

2024-11-23 15:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A red hand stamped with the inscription "Criminals" - this is the logo that the demonstrators have been presenting on the streets to state institutions in Serbia for three weeks. The citizens in protest demand that responsibility be held for 15 dead and two seriously injured from the collapse of the tent in the square in front of the train station in Novi Sad on November 1.

This modern building from 1964 recently reopened after three years of renovation. The construction project was carried out by a Chinese firm. But according to the data of the Serbian railway company, the fallen tent was not part of the reconstruction measures.

Serbia: Arrests after protests over the tragedy in Novi Sad

Traffic was blocked in several Serbian cities and citizens observed 15 minutes of silence on Friday (22.11.2024) in honor of the victims of the tragedy that left 15 dead and two seriously injured at the train station in Novi Sad on November 1. Citizens have continued the protests, as they think that this tragedy is the result of corruption, lack of transparency and careless work during the renovation of the train station. On Thursday (22.11.2024), the prosecution arrested 12 people in connection with the tragedy, among them the Minister of Construction, Communications and Infrastructure, Goran Vesi?. These arrests followed mass protests.

Arbitrary arrests of demonstrators

Student Mila Pajic is one of the organizers of the protests. In the time between lectures at the university, she works tirelessly on new actions - blocking bridges and roads, making calls for solidarity and civil disobedience.

Shortly before the action, Mila and her friend Doroteja Antiç were arrested by the police. "Six men dressed in black surrounded us and instructed us to go with them," she tells us, still in shock. "I refused because they neither introduced themselves nor showed us identification cards. But they just pulled me over and pushed me inside a black Jeep traveling in an unknown direction."

Serbia: Arrests after protests over the tragedy in Novi Sad

During the interrogation, they wanted to know who organized the protests and what she and her collaborators are planning. Both girls were interrogated for four consecutive hours. During this time, the parents of Doroteja and Mila hired lawyers and searched for their daughters in the police districts. Only after the girls were officially declared missing to the police, Mila and Doroteja were released.

"Both the police and the Serbian secret service BIA confirmed to us that our names are not in any of their systems," Mila Pajic told DW. "They are not recorded in any protocol, there were no recordings of the conversations." So who interrogated and intimidated the two students?

The number of arrests is not known

During the three weeks after the disaster in the second largest city in Serbia, dozens of people were arrested in the same way throughout the country - among them opposition politicians, activists and students. Serbian police have not yet answered DW's question about the exact number of those arrested and what they are charged with. It is officially known that at least 15 people are still in custody.

Serbia: Arrests after protests over the tragedy in Novi Sad

Art student Relja Stojanovic is experiencing a lot of attention and solidarity. He during a protest rally tried to protect his friend from an unknown person who attacked her - but it was later learned that the attacker was a plainclothes policeman. Stojanovic was now charged with physically assaulting an employee.

Artists in Novi Sad also joined the protest in solidarity with Stojanovic. Meanwhile, in the theaters of the city with 300,000 inhabitants, it has become a regular ritual that the artists address the public before the performances, demanding that political responsibility be taken for the tragedy at the train station and that all the arrested citizens be released./ DW