Serbia: Indictment confirmed against Vesić and others in canopy collapse case

The Court of Appeal in Novi Sad accepted the appeal of the Higher Public Prosecutor in Novi Sad and overturned the decision of the Higher Court in Novi Sad, which suspended the proceedings against former Serbian government minister Goran Vesić and 12 other people in the case of the collapse of a canopy at the Railway Station in that city in 2024.

"The Court of Appeals rejected the appeals of the defense attorneys of the defendants Nebojša Šurlan, Slobodan Naumović, Milan Jelkić, Ljiljana Milić Marković, Jasna Stojiljković Milić, Zorica Slavković Marjanović and Dušan Janković as unfounded," the Court of Appeals announced.

As they stated, Jelena Tanasković, Goran Vesić, Anita Dimoski, Nebojša Šurlan are charged with "serious offense against public security" in connection with the criminal offense of "causing public danger."

The defendants Slobodan Naumović, Milan Jelkić, Ljiljana Milić Marković, Milan Spremić, Jasna Stojiljković Milić, Zorica Slavković Marjanović, Dušan Janković, Marina Gavrilović and Dejan Todorović are charged with "serious offense against public security" in connection with the criminal offense of "improper and improper performance of construction work".

On December 24, 2025, the pre-trial chamber of the Higher Court in Novi Sad suspended the criminal proceedings against Jelena Tanasković, Goran Vesić, Anita Dimoski, Milan Spremić, Marina Gavrilović and Dejan Todorović in the case of the canopy collapse.

This is a case regarding the fall of a canopy from the renovated railway station building in Novi Sad, when 16 people died on November 1 last year.

The indictment was confirmed against Nebojša Šurlan, Slobodan Naumović, Milan Jelkić, Ljiljana Milić Marković, Jasna Stojiljković Milić, Zorica Slavković Marjanović and Dušan Janković, the court stated at the time.

Goran Vesić was the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure in the Government of Serbia, Jelena Tanasković was the Acting General Director of the Serbian Railway Infrastructure Company, and Anita Dimoski was the State Secretary at the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure.

Nebojša Šurlan is the former General Director of the Serbian Railway Infrastructure, while the other listed individuals are engineers and responsible for technical supervision of the execution of works.