Thousands of students protest in Serbia against violation of civil rights, spy agency crackdown
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Serbia's striking university students protested outside the Balkan country's top court on Sunday to draw their attention to what they say have been violations of their civil rights under the populist authorities, including pressure from the secret service.
The rally began with thousands of people standing in silence for 15 minutes in front of the Constitutional Court in the capital, Belgrade, to commemorate the victims of a concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad in November which triggered almost daily anti-corruption protests.
A separate rally was also held in the southern city of Nis. The ongoing protests reflect wider discontent with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s increasingly autocratic rule. Vucic formally says he wants to steer Serbia toward European Union membership but he has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.
Classes at Serbia's universities have been suspended for weeks with the students demanding accountability for the canopy collapse at the railway station building in Novi Sad on Nov. 1. Many in Serbia believe the huge canopy collapsed because of sloppy reconstruction work that resulted from corruption. The Novi Sad railway station building was renovated twice in recent years in a deal with Chinese state companies.
Fourteen people were killed and three others were severely injured after tons of concrete crashed without warning. One more person later died while in the hospital. Striking students have reported pressure from Serbian state security and Vucic, who has accused the students of receiving money from the West for their protests.
