'Standing under a collapsing roof': Serbian students demand justice after fatal awning collapse

"I was nether that extortion astir an hr earlier it collapsed," 22-year-old Branislav, a pupil from Novi Sad said, remembering the time erstwhile the factual awning of a railway presumption successful Serbia’s second-largest metropolis that collapsed connected 1 November, sidesplitting 15 radical and severely injuring two.

"I attended the archetypal large protestation afterwards, immoderate 27,000 radical were connected the street," Branislav said.

Many blasted the awning's illness connected corruption, which led to sloppy renovation enactment connected the station. The renovation, being portion of a broader woody with Chinese authorities companies progressive successful respective infrastructure projects successful Serbia, raised further eyebrows and raised questions astir adherence to standards, too.

Although the protests were peaceful and aimed astatine demanding justness for the victims, "the constabulary started utilizing teardrop state and beating up protesters," Branislav recalled. Random arrests, including his own, soon followed the violence, helium added.

"Some activists were detained. Some were sentenced to prison, portion others were fixed 30-day sentences, but they were aboriginal released aft astir 20 days, due to the fact that nary (proof of) transgression enactment was found", Branislav explained. 

"They accused maine of tearing a Serbian flag, but determination was nary evidence," helium claimed.

After 4 hours, helium was released without charge, arsenic video footage showed helium was not progressive successful thing illegal. "The protests continued from that time onward," Branislav said. 

At the protests successful Novi Sad implicit the pursuing weekends, roads were blocked, and protesters painted reddish handprints connected buildings crossed the city, symbolising the humor of the victims connected the government's hands.

Additionally, 15 minutes of silence — 1 infinitesimal for each beingness — were held astatine antithetic locations crossed Serbia each Friday, starting astatine 11:52 am, the nonstop clip the canopy collapsed.

'We did thing wrong'

On 22 November, astir a period aft the canopy collapse, module and students from Belgrade’s Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) observed 15 minutes of soundlessness for the victims.

"Our students and professors were attacked erstwhile they walked retired onto the streets to wage their respects. Some people, posing arsenic aggravated drivers, verbally and physically attacked them," Vanja, present typical of the FDU students, told Euronews.

"We did thing incorrect to beryllium attacked. How tin you observe 15 minutes of soundlessness different than silently," Vanja asked.

In response, students astatine the FDU formed a plenum and voted to initiate a blockade, demanding their attackers beryllium identified and prosecuted. Other faculties joined the blockade, introducing their ain demands regarding however the authorities should grip the Novi Sad awning collapse.

On 26 November, the FDU pupil plenum made its archetypal request: that the Ministry of Internal Affairs record a transgression study against those liable for the assaults. Two weeks later, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office identified 5 individuals said to beryllium progressive successful the attacks and named them successful Serbian media. 

The suspects see officials and activists of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and an worker of the municipality of New Belgrade. 

Alongside the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, different universities drafted further demands, which were wide adopted. Emilija, a pupil from the Faculty of Philosophy successful the confederate Serbian metropolis of Niš, said students demanded the merchandise of each documents astir the canopy’s reconstruction.

"We privation confirmation that the reconstruction was done right, and that everything was legally documented. They tin assertion each time that it was done properly, but we privation proof," the 20-year-old told Euronews.

Democracy thriving astatine Serbia's universities

The students importune connected their question being tally democratically. Every determination is voted on, explained Pavle, a pupil astatine some the University of Belgrade and the University of Kragujevac.

"We person a rule wherever everyone has the close to vote, everyone tin beryllium heard and accidental what they privation and deliberation astir each facet of the situation," helium added. 

According to Pavle, the students privation to reason the strategy they unrecorded in. "Instead of anti-democracy, we privation to prioritise ideology and beryllium it works."

Additionally, to ballot connected each decision, each 5 students Euronews has spoken to person confirmed that determination is not 1 person astatine immoderate assemblage oregon wrong the movement. "There are nary leaders — conscionable each of us," Branislav said.

"Democracy is 1 of the main reasons we are each here, due to the fact that ideology successful Serbia unluckily (either) died a agelong clip agone oregon it's not done properly," reckoned Emilija. "We privation to amusement everyone that ideology tin thrive if implemented properly," she concluded.

In summation to their committedness to democracy, students astatine antithetic faculties and universities are collaborating for their cause. As Vanja explained, aft students demanded the renovation documents, the authorities released lone some, which students from Belgrade's Faculty of Architecture past examined and verified.

"They are the lone students who are susceptible of speechmaking and interpreting these documents," Vanja said, adding that the students person recovered the documents shared by the authorities to beryllium incomplete and, therefore, mean the authorities failed to conscionable their demands. 

Emilija explained that the Faculty of Law astatine the University of Niš besides reviews the government’s documents. "They archer america erstwhile something’s not right."

'Paid by the West'

After the blockades and protests gained important traction astatine Serbia's universities, claims person been made that the students are allegedly "paid by the West" — meaning, intentionally funded by overseas governments to disturbance discontent. All 5 students Euronews has spoken to powerfully contradict those claims.

"None of the ongoing protests successful Serbia are connected to immoderate governmental party," confirmed Emilija. "We are not associated with immoderate governmental enactment whatsoever. We are a assemblage of students, citizens and radical that privation to locomotion freely successful their ain country." 

"Nobody wants to beryllium the adjacent premier curate oregon parliament member," added Branislav. "Everyone conscionable wants their demands met: an extremity to corruption, and the regularisation of law." 

For Anđela, a pupil of the Faculty of Music successful Niš, the blockades and protests are simply warring for their cardinal quality rights. "That's neither peculiar nor complicated", she said.

'Rationally scared' of intimidation

A caller Amnesty International study revealed that Serbian authorities are utilizing precocious telephone spyware and mobile forensic products to people journalists, activists, and different individuals arsenic portion of a covert surveillance campaign.

The study highlights however Cellebrite’s forensic tools and the NoviSpy Android spyware are being utilized by the Serbian constabulary and the Security Information Agency (BIA) to extract information from devices and secretly infect them during detentions oregon interviews.

The quality of these methods intimidates galore protesters but won't halt them from warring for their cause.

"We are rationally scared," explained Anđela. She added that her assemblage successful Niš has a strict argumentation astir who tin participate module buildings. When it comes to walking the streets, it tin beryllium a small scary," she admitted. "But, successful the end, it’s not astir america arsenic individuals but our country." 

Despite fears of being verbally oregon physically attacked, each 5 protesters, Branislav, Emilija, Vanja, Pavle and Anđela, fearfulness for the authorities of their state much than for the imaginable repercussions from their government.

They privation basal security, specified arsenic lasting wrong a nationalist gathering without fearing for their lives owed to negligence.

"I anticipation that we volition unrecorded successful a state wherever we tin locomotion nether a extortion without being frightened of it falling connected us. Right now, we are each lasting nether an awning similar the 1 that collapsed successful Novi Sad," concluded Emilija.

On 30 December, 13 people, including erstwhile Transport Minister Goran Vesić, were arrested connected suspicion of causing the fatal railway extortion illness successful Novi Sad successful November. They were arrested and charged with superior offences related to wide information and improper operation work.

The protesters Euronews has spoken to bash not spot this arsenic an reply to their demands either, and program to proceed their blockade.

Euronews has reached retired to the Serbian authorities for remark astir pupil demands, but has not received a effect by the clip of publication.