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Commemorations for 15 people killed by a collapsed railway station roof in Serbia have intensified into major anti-corruption protests and a challenge to the country’s populist leader, Aleksandar Vučić.
Tens of thousands of protesters blocked bridges in the city of Novi Sad on Saturday, demanding the release of documents related to the station's reconstruction and accusing the government of ineptitude and graft.
Čedomir Stojković, a Serbian human rights lawyer, told the Guardian the student-led protests were fuelled not only by corruption allegations but also by general unhappiness with Vučić’s authoritarian rule.
Serbia has one of the most tightly-controlled media environments in Europe, but after three months of ignoring the demonstrations, Radio Television Serbia, the state broadcaster, has given the protests top billing. Vučić’s grip may be loosening.
