Serbia Arrests Nine for Violence at Protest Over Railway Station Collapse

Officials in Serbia on Wednesday said nine people had been arrested for violent behaviour and rioting at a mass protest the previous night in Novi Sad sparked by anger about the collapse of the city’s railway station last Friday that killed 14 people.

The Higher Prosecutor’s Office and Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad said that six were suspected of violent behaviour at a public gathering, one of “destroying another person’s property”, one of attacking police officers on duty and one of “causing general danger”.

Police identified 12 “rioters” during the night after the protest in Novi Sad, Assistant Police Director Colonel Dragan Vasiljevic told Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS on Wednesday. 

“It is about the execution of a large number of crimes and misdemeanours. During the day, we will identify everyone and prosecute those who participated in the riots,” Vasiljevic said.

He added that police had recorded the whole event and will use these records to identify participants. “The [city] square itself and the location where these riots are taking place is covered by city cameras,” he said.

Goran Jesic, a former vice-president of Serbia’s northern region of Vojvodina, was detained after he objected to the arrest of another demonstrator, allegedly by police in civilian uniforms.

Vasiljevic said that 48 hours’ detention had been ordered for Jesic and a criminal complaint would be filed against him for attacking police officers performing their official duties.

Police also detained former Constitutional Court judge and former Minister for Human Rights Svetozar Ciplic because they found a hammer in his pocket. Media also reported that the activist Ivan Bjelic was detained, as was Novi Sad city councillor Miran Pogacar, who was freed after a few hours. 

Thousands of protesters marched through Serbia’s second-largest city on Tuesday to demand official accountability for the infrastructure collapse at the railway station on Friday that killed 14 people and left three more seriously injured.

Some protesters turned violent after they reached City Hall, where red paint was thrown at the building and windows smashed.

As the demonstration wound down, a group of masked men threw stones, sticks and flares at the City Hall and a construction site in the city centre. Some demonstrators and opposition leaders have accused them of being provocateurs. Windows at the offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, were also smashed.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited Novi Sad on Tuesday and gave a speech in the SNS premises, promising harsh punishment.

“The police are very restrained tonight, the competent state authorities are restrained tonight, not only because of them but also because of the reverence we show for the victims of the terrible tragedy.” he said. “But people and citizens of Serbia, don’t think for one moment that violence is allowed. All those who participated in this will be punished,” Vucic said.

He said that all those responsible for the disaster would also be punished: “The state has taken all measures to punish those responsible and we will do that; no one will get away if they have made any mistake.”

Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic resigned on Tuesday, citing “moral reasons”, but denying he was responsible for the casualties. “I cannot accept the blame for the death of 14 people because neither I nor the people who work with me have an iota of responsibility for the tragedy,” Vesic said, adding he was “sure” the investigation will reveal the same.

The prosecutor’s office in Novi Sad on Tuesday said it had questioned 48 people, and five more await questioning, over Friday’s disaster at the station. It added that material evidence is being stored in a secure place.

The railway station was recently renovated as part of a Chinese-led upgrade of Serbia’s railway infrastructure – part of China’s mammoth Belt and Road Initiative.

The renovation began in 2021 and the works were unveiled in 2022 during that year’s election campaign. But reconstruction continued until July this year, when the authorities declared the station had been rebuilt “according to European standards”.

Novi Sad-based news website 021 reported that documentation concerning the renovation has been classified as confidential.