Rajić: Full truth about station canopy collapse will remain hidden while this government is in power

Twenty-two months after the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapsed, killing 16 people and seriously injuring one, lawyer Jovan Rajić says the legal process is no closer to revealing the full truth.

Proceedings are running in Novi Sad and Belgrade, but the Higher Court in Novi Sad has not announced when the first case will begin. That proceeding involves 13 defendants, including former construction minister Goran Vesić, former acting director of Infrastructure of Serbian Railways Jelena Tanasković, Vesić’s aide Anita Dimoski and former company director Nebojša Šurlan.

Rajić, who sits on the commission examining responsibility for the collapse, said the case should not be limited to technical questions. He argued that political responsibility and corruption also needed examination, saying the central legal battle in Novi Sad had concerned whether political figures, led by Vesić, would face trial.

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As long as this government is in power, the full truth will never be uncovered, because there are too many interests and protected persons, and ultimately it would mean that they had written their own indictment, which no defendant has ever done.

He also criticized President Aleksandar Vučić, saying Vučić had sought to influence the investigation days after the November 1, 2024, collapse by saying there had been no corruption and that professional expertise had failed. Rajić said the Novi Sad appeals court’s decision to return six officials and experts to the indictment showed that the judiciary had not fallen entirely under one person’s control.

At the same time, he expects defense lawyers to delay the proceedings and buy time. Rajić said elections had become difficult to avoid discussing, especially given the state of Serbia’s justice system. He also warned that Vučić could use any lawful progress in the case politically, presenting it as proof that the judiciary functions while dismissing broader accusations as politically motivated.

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If the proceedings are conducted in even a remotely lawful manner, Vučić will say, ‘You see, we enabled the judiciary to function, and yet they accuse us over the General Staff and who knows what else. It is a yellow judiciary.’