Thousands of people took to the streets on January 25 in several cities in Serbia to demand political and criminal responsibility for the deaths of 15 people in the collapse of a canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad.
Marches and demonstrations took place in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and more than a dozen other cities across the country in the latest in a series of protests spearheaded by students, who continue to call for accountability in the deadly canopy collapse nearly three months ago.
The demonstrators carried banners calling for justice and emblazoned with slogans such as "Demands have not been met" and "We will pass this exam as well," according to an RFE/RL reporter.
During the protest in Zrenjanin participants observed 15 minutes of silence -- one minute for each of the people killed when the canopy collapsed on November 1.
More than 1,000 people gathered in the center of the Novi Sad, where marchers held a 15-minute memorial service for the victims. Marchers shouted, "They attacked students," referring to two attacks on students in Belgrade in recent days.
Two female students were injured in separate incidents when cars were driven into groups of protesters. Prosecutors have charged the drivers of the cars with attempted murder.
SEE ALSO: Woman Badly Injured After Car Ploughs Through Belgrade ProtestThe protests on January 25 came a day after a general strike observed by tens of thousands of citizens across the country who stayed away from work and refrained from making purchases for the day.
The canopy collapse occurred after the railway station had been renovated twice in recent years by a Chinese-led consortium of four companies. Serbian Railways insisted that the renovation didn’t include the concrete overhang, but some experts disputed that, while many people blame corruption and poor construction oversight for the tragedy.
Protests have been taking place regularly since the incident as demonstrators demand the government take more robust action beyond an indictment announced last month naming the former transport minister, the former director of Serbian Railway, and 11 others.
Ten of the defendants are in custody, but the former minister, Goran Vesic, remains at large, while two others are under house arrest.
The students also have been holding more than 60 state universities in lockdown for the past two months. Their primary demand is that authorities release complete documentation on the railway station reconstruction projects.
The authorities claim that all their demands have been met and urge students to open the faculties.
Academics, on the other hand, say that the requirements have been only partially met and the suspension of work at the faculties will continue until further notice.
They insist that the documentation on the reconstruction of the train station published on the website of the government of Serbia and on the website of the prosecutor-general's office in Novi Sad is incomplete.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on January 25 urged all documents related to the canopy collapse to be made public.
"I am calling on the government, the investor, the contractor, and the prosecutor's office to submit absolutely everything that has been requested," said Vucic in a video message on Instagram.
Vucic also said he has demanded that police officers secure the area around protests to protect them from any further car-rammings.
The president announced that police would also protect protests planned for January 27 involving an expected day-long blockade of a major traffic intersection in Belgrade.