Serbia charges 13 in railway station tragedy, critics allege cover-up

[ad_1]

The accident occurred at a practice station in Novi Unhappy, 100 kilometers northwest of Belgrade, following repeated renovations inside a broader settlement with Chinese language development corporations. Critics blamed the shoddy work on widespread corruption and a scarcity of transparency.

“Goran Vesić is likely one of the individuals most chargeable for huge corruption in development, for the coverage of secret contracts with buyers, and that is now forsaking human victims,” Radomir Lazović, co-chief of the opposition get together Inexperienced-Left Entrance, mentioned after the accident.

Regardless of the indictments, critics mentioned the investigation didn't familiarize yourself with the corruption that allegedly brought about the tragedy.

“Whereas the federal government tries to throw mud within the eyes of the individuals, key questions stay unanswered,” mentioned former Novi Unhappy Mayor Boris Novaković in a submit on X. “How is it potential that within the indictment there may be not even a phrase about accountability for the deaths of 15 individuals? The place are the traces of the corruption that prices us every single day, not simply cash but in addition lives?”

<img decoding="async" width="1024" height="714" src="https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/30/GettyImages-2182245206-1-1024x714.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5926713" srcset="https://www.politico.eu/cdn-cgi/image/width=1024,quality=80,onerror=redirect,format=auto/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/30/GettyImages-2182245206-1.jpg 1024w, https://www.politico.eu/cdn-cgi/image/width=300,quality=80,onerror=redirect,format=auto/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/30/GettyImages-2182245206-1.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"/> The Greater Prosecutor’s Workplace in Novi Unhappy, Serbia’s second-largest metropolis, charged former Transport Minister Goran Vesić. | Oliver Bunic/Getty Pictures

The Novi Unhappy station lies on a deliberate 1,032-kilometer railway connection from Budapest, Hungary to Athens, Greece that's being constructed inside China’s Belt and Street infrastructure drive. Regardless of the Nov. 1 casualties, Belgrade stays decided to see the venture via.

“If we're all dedicated collectively, we'll construct a high-speed railway from Budapest via Belgrade, Skopje and Thessaloniki,” mentioned PM Vučević. “So we'll join Central Europe with Greece, that's, with the Mediterranean a part of Europe.”