On 1 November 2024, a newly renovated concrete roof collapsed on the railway station in Novi Sad in Serbia, killing 16 people and seriously injuring another one. The tragedy, widely blamed on construction negligence and government corruption, sparked what would become one of the largest civic movements in Serbia’s recent history. Students were the first to respond, taking to the streets and organising vigils, protests and blockades of roads and universities as they called for change. Many were beaten or arrested by the police. In 2025, Serbian students were nominated for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. During the award ceremony in Strasbourg, we spoke with student protester Stefan Tomić, who was among those detained by Serbian police.

During the panel organised with civil society organisations when the Sakharov Prize was awarded in Strasbourg, you mentioned that the student protests in Serbia were in fact initiated by just one young woman after the terrible tragedy in Novi Sad. In your opinion, how and why did the protest grow to such massive proportions?

Until now, protests in Serbia have been organised by opposition parties or other interest groups. This time it’s different: the tragedy stirred emotions that were strong enough for us to take action on our own, without any other interests. That’s why the young woman started the first blockade, that’s why, after seeing her, we jumped in, and that’s why Serbia trusts us. That’s why the protests are massive.

Your fellow student Dimitrije Dimić said in Strasbourg that your student movement has in fact no leader. How do you gather and organise? What would have to happen for you to decide to end the protests?

We hold assemblies at the faculties, then there is a kind of coordinating structure above that and decisions are made democratically. We trust those decisions the way someone would trust a leader, and that is why we don’t even need a leader. In answer to your question about ending the protests, it’s simple: our demands must be met.

How have the authorities and police of the Republic of Serbia responded to the student protests? You yourself were arrested and placed under house arrest. How did your arrest happen, and what exactly were you charged with?

They arrested me out of the blue. They didn’t give me a summons or a lawyer. After five hours, I assume the outside pressure became strong enough that they had to grant me my basic rights. I then found out that I was being charged with inciting a violent change of the constitutional order, and I was detained for two days. After that, my house arrest began. The police have not been gentle at all; they have beaten us many, many times over the past year.

Some of your lawyers were with you in Strasbourg. What kind of legal help are the students receiving from the lawyers? Who else has supported you? How are you portrayed in the Serbian media?

The lawyers were among the first to go on strike, and now, when we are arrested, it means a lot to have a good lawyer. We have received support from practically every group in Serbia, although the most visible have been teachers and professors, the IT sector, taxi drivers and bikers. But this is not thanks to the media. All TV stations holding nationwide broadcast licences claim that we are paid mercenaries and terrorists. Nova S and N1 are the only TV stations that report objectively, and the government is doing everything it can to shut them down. Social media saved us.

Some critics still claim that no one actually knows what the student protesters’ programme is or what you stand for. How would you respond to that?

More than a year has passed. Earlier, I could attribute such statements to ignorance; now I am sure they are malicious. We are fighting against theft, murder, corruption… We are fighting for democracy, equal rights for all. We are fighting for the fulfillment of our demands. We have been fighting for the same things since the beginning. There wouldn’t be so many of us if we didn’t have a clear goal, and people wouldn’t support us if we didn’t.

Serbian students have been nominated for the 2025 Sakharov Prize. What does this nomination mean to you personally and to the other students?

It’s an incredible feeling. We are still young, and it is terrifying to do something on the scale of an entire nation without any confirmation that we are doing things the right way. Such recognition is necessary ─ for us and for everyone in the world who finds themselves in a similar situation. Thank you. From me and from all the students.

Stefan Tomić is a 20-year-old student in the Faculty of Physics, University of Belgrade.