site.btaProtesters Temporarily Suspend Blockade of Novi Sad Court in Serbia

The blockade of the Novi Sad court has been temporarily suspended, Serbian media report. Access to the courthouse is free from this morning until 11 a.m. local time (12 p.m. Bulgarian time), the students that are part of the blockade reported on Instagram. This act was taken in order to give the court an opportunity to rule on the appeal against the 30-day extension of the arrest of six civil activists from Novi Sad.

The activists were detained on March 14, on the eve of a big anti-government protest in Belgrade. The charges of violating the country's constitutional order are based on an audio recording that was released by several pro-government media in Serbia. The wiretapped conversation revealed plans to impose the idea of a transitional government and to storm the building of the state-owned Serbian Broadcasting Corporation during the protest. Lawyers for the defendants argued on multiple occasions that Serbia's Security Intelligence Agency illegally wiretapped this conversation, which is why it cannot be admitted as legally valid evidence in court.

On May 15, the lawyers of the arrested filed an appeal against the court's decision to extend their detention by 30 days. The release of the activists was demanded by students involved in the blockade, civil organizations, NGOs, and the European Parliament.

A protest was held in Belgrade on Monday night demanding that activist Marija Vasic be released. Vasic started a hunger and thirst strike, which saw her health deteriorating. Her son Milan Canak asked to be provided with a report of her current condition signed by a medical expert.

According to the official announcement of the Serbian authorities, Vasic is currently receiving transfusions in the hospital of the Central Prison in Belgrade and was previously treated in the hospital of the Novi Sad Prison.

On November 1, 2024, a concrete canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, which led to 16 fatalities. The tragedy sparked a wave of social discontent in Serbia with protests, civil disobedience and blockades, mainly organized by students, blocking some 60 colleges in the country. The protesters allege that corruption that has eroded the Serbian government, which was the reason behind the low-quality reconstruction of the canopy. They demand that anyone responsible for the tragedy should be held politically and criminally accountable.

In early May, the students called for early parliamentary elections and announced that they would not run for parliament but would support a list of candidates who have not been part of the political life of the country yet.