site.btaDijana Hrka's Health Worsens as Her Hunger Strike in Serbia Enters 13th Day

The health of Dijana Hrka, mother to one of the sixteen victims of the tragedy in Novi Sad, Northern Serbia, has deteriorated, according to a private hospital report cited by Serbian media. She has been on hunger strike for 13 days in protest against the lack of convictions one year after the collapse of the concrete canopy at Novi Sad railway station, which killed 16 people and seriously injured one.

The private medical facility has called on citizens and the media to respect Hrka's privacy. She was admitted for the second time on Friday to be put on an IV drip due to low blood pressure.

According to a post on Instagram, students from the Medical Faculty in Kragujevac have called on her to end her hunger strike because it is endangering her life. "We must not allow the actions of this regime to create new victims," the post stated.

Hrka, who has called on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic not to be a "coward" and to schedule elections, has expressed outrage that her older son was pressured into calling her and asking her to end her hunger strike, according to a report by regional television station N1.

Anti-government protests, which arose in response to the tragedy in Novi Sad, accuse the authorities of corruption and nepotism. They have demanded that those responsible for the accident be punished and have been calling for early parliamentary elections since May, but the Serbian President has so far refused to schedule them.