The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad announced: Indictment filed against Goran Vesić and 12 other

The announcement of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad is transmitted in its entirety:

"On the occasion of the tragic event on November 1, 2024, when sixteen people lost their lives and one person was seriously injured as a result of the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad informs the public that on September 16, 2025, in accordance with the law, it filed an indictment against thirteen defendants due to reasonable suspicion that they committed crimes that are legally qualified as Serious crimes against general security under the article 288 of the Criminal Code. The Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad acted in full according to the Decision of the High Court in Novi Sad, which was delivered to this Prosecutor's Office on 12/09/2025 after which on September 15, 2025, the Order on the Completion of the Supplement to the Investigation was passed, which ended the investigative procedure.

During the investigation, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad acted within its jurisdiction and in the interest of the investigation. Aware of the importance of this procedure, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad used all available human and material resources in order to determine the complete factual situation.

Thirteen persons were included in the indictment, including G.V. former minister in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, J.T. former acting general director of "Infrastructure of Railways of Serbia" a.d., A.D. former acting assistant minister in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, N.Š. former general director of "Serbian Railway Infrastructure" a.d., S.N. responsible designer of the building structure, M.J. chief designer of the conceptual project, Lj.M.M. chief designer of the building permit project, M.S. reporter of the Republic Audit Commission, J.S.M. the person responsible for the technical control of the construction permit project, Z.S.M. and D.J. persons responsible for construction works, M.G. and D.T. persons responsible for professional supervision of the execution of works, namely:

due to criminal acts that enabled the use of a public facility - the station building of the Railway Station in Novi Sad, wing B, even though construction work was ongoing and for which a use permit was not issued,

due to a criminal offense related to the previous non-maintenance of the structure of the station building,

due to the criminal acts during the design and execution of works during the renovation of the railway station building in Novi Sad.

In the indictment, it was proposed that the High Court in Novi Sad order detention for all the defendants due to the continuing great disturbance of the public, which may threaten the smooth and fair conduct of the criminal proceedings. In relation to certain defendants, detention was also proposed due to the danger that they will repeat the crime.

In order to protect the interests of all injured parties, the Indictment proposed that the court assign property claims to authorized persons. It was suggested that all the accused should be ordered to take a security measure, banning them from calling, performing activities and duties, as well as obliging all the accused to pay the full costs of the criminal proceedings.

The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad welcomes the constructive participation of the public in this case. At the same time, we note that the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office acts in the public interest, and that arbitrary speculations in the public do not contribute to the conduct of the investigation.

The allegations of the Indictment are fully supported by the collected evidence that confirms the justified suspicion that the accused committed the criminal acts charged against them. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad expects that the Indictment will enter into force as soon as possible for all the accused. This would allow the public trial to begin with the presentation of evidence, both by the prosecution and the defense, with the aim of establishing criminal responsibility before the court."