Prosecutors in Serbia make 11 arrests in the case of the tragedy in the Novi Sad train station. Two former ministers, among those arrested
Day of mourning in Serbia after the tragedy in Novi Sad. Photo: Darko Vojinovic / AP / Profimedia
A former minister and ten other accused were arrested on Friday in Serbia, in the case of collapse in November last year of the roof of the station in Novi Sad, an incident with 16 dead and who fueled the protests of the pro-Western opposition against President Aleksandar Vucic, reports AFP and Reuters, quoted by Agerpres.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the arrested persons had responsibilities related to the rehabilitation works of that station. Among those arrested are the former Minister of Infrastructure Tomislav Momirovic.
Six of them are suspected of swelling of the invoices issued by a consortium of two Chinese companies (China Railway International Co and China Communications Construction CO) to which the rehabilitation works of the Novi Sad station and the railway lines were entrusted, according to a statement of the Prosecutor's Office.
He also adds, by swelling the invoices the damage to the state budget was $ 115.6 million, and the Chinese consortium obtained a benefit of $ 18.8 million.
The 11 people now arrested, including Momirovic's successor, Goran Vesic, were detained in December on the charge of committing a criminal act against public safety.
The authorities opened two investigations. The first, focused on the circumstances of the accident and its deadly consequences, was entrusted to the Office of Prosecutor General of Novi Sad. The other investigation, opened in February, focuses on the corruption aspect of the case and was entrusted to the Belgrade's prosecutor's prosecutor's office.
The arrests announced on Friday were decided at the second investigation. The first six arrests were announced at noon, and later the arrest of five other suspects was announced, including a former executive director of the Public Railway Company and managers of some companies involved in the works.
The opponents of President Aleksandar Vucic quickly assigned the tragedy from the Novi Sad Railway Station in the country. In December, the legislative elections followed, won with 46% of Vucic's nationalist formation votes, the Serbian progressive party (SNS), while the main opposition coalition, “Serbia against violence”, obtained only 23.5% of the votes and does not recognize the result, claiming that it would have been organized, and then it would have been of the street.
President Aleksandar Vucic, who in foreign policy makes balance between Russia and the West, has rejected the accusations of fraud and said that he has evidence that the insistent protests of the opposition are orchestrated from abroad, suggesting that Western states would seek to remove him from power.
