A year after student protests that shook Valjevo: Serbia at a crossroads

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Serbia’s student-led protest movement, which began after the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people in November 2024, has developed into a broader challenge to President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party. The article says the unrest spread nationwide over the past year, with blockades and large demonstrations calling first for accountability and later for wider political change.

The piece uses the city of Valjevo, about 90km southwest of Belgrade, as a lens on the movement’s impact. It recalls video from August 2025 showing police beating a man during protests there, footage that became emblematic of allegations of excessive force. Local journalists and activists quoted by Al Jazeera describe long-lasting social damage, fear among independent reporters, and a breakdown in trust after the unrest and the response to it.

The report also notes that police defended their actions as lawful and necessary to restore order after citizens attacked officers. At the same time, critics and supporters of the students are debating the direction of the movement, including concerns that nationalist symbols and rhetoric have become more visible. Al Jazeera says this has complicated the coalition behind the protests, even as many activists still view the students as the strongest challenge yet to Vucic’s long dominance.

More broadly, the article frames Serbia as being at a crossroads: whether the protests will lead only to demands for accountability over the Novi Sad disaster, or to a deeper political shift and a rethinking of the country’s future.