SERBIA: Indictment for Canopy Tragedy & more – 16th Sep 2025

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 16th of September twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

On Tuesday the 16th, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in the northern city of Novi Sad filed an indictment against thirteen individuals in connection with the deadly railway station tragedy which took place last year. The defendants include the former construction minister Vesic, his former assistant, and the Serbian Railways Infrastructure director, among others. The Office stated that these individuals were in charge of ensuring the safety of the railway station prior to opening it to the public, which they failed to do. Prosecutors proposed pretrial detention for the thirteen defendants.

Recall that in November last year, the canopy of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed and killed sixteen people, only four months after its renovation in July. The incident sparked mass protests in the country, calling for accountability from the state.

Speaking of protests, representatives of five Serbian opposition parties called on the members of the European Parliament to sanction president Vucic and other high-ranking officials in Serbia for the facilitation of police brutality on peaceful demonstrators. Aside from Vucic, the opposition parties are calling for the Parliament to also sanction the Prime Minister, the Parliament Speaker, and the Interior Minister for supporting the use of excess police force.

In the past several months, police repressed student-led protests with batons and pepper spray, and assaulted and kidnapped participants.

MEPs discussed the sanctions, with some saying that they were the only way to stop police brutality in Serbia. Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, said that she was losing her trust in Serbia’s commitment to join the EU, mainly because of Vucic’s deployment of violence, insults targeting EU officials, and participation in military parades in Russia and China.

As the European Parliament discusses the possible repercussions Serbian officials could face due to excess violence during the student protests, on Sunday the 14th students of Novi Sad accused the police of deploying banned tear gas on protesters in early September. The Faculty of Sciences of the Novi Sad University published results of independent laboratory tests, showing traces of CS gas and CN gas - substances which were phased out in the 70s due to their high toxicity. The students urged criminal charges for those who authorized the use of toxic gas on peaceful protesters.

However, the Interior Ministry denied the allegations and said that the police do not have those toxic substances. Students then posted pictures online of canisters that the police left behind, clearly confirming their possession of these chemicals.

Farmers from across Serbia also took to the streets of Novi Sad on Monday the 15th, warning the government that if it wanted to prevent the radicalization of their protests, it should fulfill their demands. Over a hundred tractors showed up in front of the city assembly in protest, with the support of local students and citizens. The farmers are asking for the government to abolish excise duties on fuel, regulate the commodity exchange, provide subsidized loans, and pay around 35,000 dinars, which is around 350 dollars, per hectare, in drought relief.

In response to the protest, the Agriculture Minister said that the farmers’ requests are unrealistic, noting that the state’s budget is not big enough.

On Thursday the 11th representatives of Serbia and Kosovo participated in a new round of normalization talks under the mediation of the EU. Just like previous dialogue sessions, the one on Thursday ended without resolution, with both sides accusing the other of blocking progress.

Besnik Bislimi, Kosovo's chief negotiator, insisted on the full implementation of the Ohrid agreement from twenty twenty-three - a normalization deal which President Vucic and Kosovo’s PM Kurti both agreed on, but Vucic ultimately refused to sign.

On the other hand, Petar Petkovic, Serbia's chief negotiator, said that Serbia does not want to make progress in the dialogue until Kosovo implements the Serbian-majority municipalities in Kosovo - a reform that is due since twenty thirteen.

While on the topic of bilateral relations, China’s highest legislative body approved on Friday the 12th the decision to ratify an extradition treaty with Serbia, which would allow China to request the handover of its citizens from Serbian judicial authorities.

Several human rights groups, such as Safeguard Defenders and Freedom House, warned of China’s past of abusing extradition treaties, mainly when it comes to political opponents and dissidents. The Serbian parliament is yet to discuss the topic.

China has sent several extradition requests to various European countries, but they would ultimately deny every single one due to concerns over unfair trials, abuse and political repression in China. On the other hand, Serbia has participated in the extradition of Chinese nationals already, even without a formal treaty.

In some news about the economy, the statistical office reported on Friday the 12th that the year-on-year inflation in Serbia slowed down to around 4.7 percent in August, compared to five percent in July. They added that the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages saw the highest annual growth rate out of all categories - around eight percent in August, which is almost one percent lower than in July. Prices of housing, water, electricity and gas also increased, by around three percent annually.

Still on the economic front, the minimum wage will increase in twenty twenty-six by around 10,000 dinars, which is around a hundred dollars, amounting to around 65,000 dinars a month, about 650 dollars. Additionally, in July the government decided to introduce an extraordinary increase of ten percent to the current minimum wage of 54,000 dinars a month, which is around 540 dollars.

On the same day, the Center for Politics of Emancipation reported the results of its assessment of living costs in Serbia, saying that the living wage amounts to around 150,000 dinars a month, which is around 1,500 dollars. They said that any increase to the minimum wage is positive, but still highlighted that the minimum wage covers only thirty percent of what is needed for a decent living.

In other news, the opposition Serbia Center party, or Srce, raised concerns about the growing number of betting shops in the country. Srce said that Serbia ranks second in Europe in terms of the number of betting shops (right behind Bosnia), with around 3,000 shops in total, 700 of which are located in Belgrade. The party said that such numbers are dangerous for society, as they increase the risk of gambling addictions, mainly in minors who visit them illegally.

Srce criticized the state for allowing casinos and betting shops to pay less in taxes due to their contribution to the state budget - a whopping 20 billion dinars, which is around 200 million dollars, in twenty twenty-four alone.

Last week, a multidisciplinary research team within Serbia's Institute of Archaeology reported that they had found evidence of gladiator fights taking place in what is now eastern Serbia. The team analyzed a fragmented animal skull recovered from the ancient Roman city of Viminacium in the country’s east, showing that it belonged to a bear of Balkan origin from more than 1,700 years ago. The archeologists said that it had traces of trauma to its canines, noting that the Romans likely used it in gladiator fights, adding that it was likely one of Viminacium’s main attractions.

Since its Roman days, Serbia has progressed from gladiator fights to more ethical events, like film festivals. From the 18th to the 22nd of September, Belgrade’s Yugoslav Film Archive will host its annual Italian-Serbian Film Festival, featuring films from both Italian and Serbian directors. Some of the movies scheduled for the festival include The Russian Consul, Sunday, and Mother Mara.

For more information about the Italian-Serbian Film Festival, check out the link in the show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Don’t forget that we do many other updates. We’ve got country and non-country updates, including the Arctic, Ocean, and Multilateral shows.

Check the full list with the link in the show notes.

Do daljnjeg, zbogom!