How Serbia's students turned tragedy into a national movement for change

Students protest in front of the state-owned and operated radio station Radio Belgrade headquarters, over the fatal November 2024 Novi Sad railway station roof collapse, in Belgrade, Serbia, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Anger drove Marija Petrovic to join student protests in Belgrade in November. A railway station roof had collapsed days earlier in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, killing 15 people. Thugs then set upon demonstrators who were calling for justice for the dead.

Initially there was little sign of wider support for the protesters, who blamed government corruption and nepotism for what they say was shoddy construction work on a recently-renovated roof. The government denies the allegations.