By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-02-02 10:56:18 | Updated at 2025-02-02 13:42:56
2 hours ago
Wrapped in blankets and huddled around fires at makeshift camps, Serbian students braved sub-zero temperatures in Novi Sad as they spent the night outside, after a mass rally against corruption brought tens of thousands to the streets.
“It’s cold, but we’ve become used to it. We’ve been sleeping at the university for over two months,” Andrea Laco, a student at the Faculty of Technology in Novi Sad, told reporters.
“Grief united us, and we’re here to fight for justice,” she added.
After walking for two days from Belgrade, demonstrators converged on Novi Sad ahead of a rally on Saturday to mark three months since a railway station roof in the city collapsed and killed 15 people.
The station had recently been renovated and the disaster brought to the surface long-standing anger in Serbia over corruption and the alleged lack of oversight in construction projects backed by the government.
The deaths sparked the largest protest movement the Balkan country has seen in decades, with students taking a leading role.
