cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3556633
For over eight months now, Serbia has witnessed mass protests against corruption. Students and citizens are demanding accountability for the deaths of 16 people after the collapse of the newly renovated canopy at the Novi Sad Railway station.
Three investigations have been launched, yet no one has been convicted, and not a single indictment has been confirmed by a final court decision … On the same day the canopy collapsed, 1 november 2024, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad launched an investigation into the causes of the incident. By 30 December, indictments had been filed against 13 individuals for a serious offence against public safety, specifically related to the crime of causing general danger.
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Numerous signs pointing to corruption
Among the students’ demands was the publication of all documentation related to the reconstruction of the Novi Sad Railway Station.
In response, Serbian authorities released portions of the documentation on the government’s website on several occasions. However, construction experts have consistently maintained that the key documents have not been made public—particularly those related to the financing and contracting of the railway station reconstruction project.
As Transparency Serbia also pointed out, a crucial contract is conspicuously missing from the published materials: the agreement signed on 28 May 2018, between the Government of Serbia, Serbian Railway Infrastructure, and the consortium “Joint Venture of China Railway International Co. Ltd & China Communications Construction Company Ltd,” covering the full scope of works from Novi Sad to Kelebija.
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