Serbia's protesting students rally to mark 7 months since train station tragedy

Thousands in Serbia demand snap election amid anti-corruption protests, challenging President Vucic's grip on power.

Thousands of people on Sunday (June 1, 2025) vowed to keep on fighting for justice and the rule of law in Serbia as they demanded that President Aleksandar Vucic call a snap parliamentary election following months of persistent demonstrations that have challenged his firm grip on power in the Balkan country.

Protesters led by university students blocked bridges in the capital Belgrade and rallied in 30 other Serbian cities and towns as they also marked exactly seven months since a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the north, killing 16 people and sparking the massive wave of anti-corruption protests.

“The whole of Serbia has risen,” protesting students said in a speech that was read at all the rallies at the same time, “There will be no more silence, there will be no more surrender!”

Many people in Serbia believe that the deadly November 1 canopy collapse in Novi Sad was the result of flawed renovation work on the station building, and they link the disaster to alleged government corruption in major infrastructure projects with Chinese state companies.

President Vucic, whom critics have accused of imposing authoritarian rule in Serbia since coming to power over a decade ago, initially dismissed the possibility of holding early elections but on Friday (May 30, 2025) suggested they could take place, though without saying exactly when.

Sunday's (June 1, 2025) protests included commemoration ceremonies for the victims of the Novi Sad crash and student marches and blockades. In Belgrade, crowds halted traffic at two key bridges over the Sava River for three hours, while protesters in Novi Sad carried a white wreath for the canopy collapse victims as they walked toward the crash site.

Mina Miletic, from Belgrade, said she is encouraged by so many people fighting together for the same goal: “The rule of law and life in a decent country.”