Serbian officials deny illegal sonic weapon attack on peaceful
protesters
[March 17, 2025]
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian officials denied Sunday
that security forces used a military-grade sonic weapon to disperse and
scare protesters at a huge anti-government rally in the capital.
Opposition officials and Serbian rights groups claimed the widely banned
acoustic weapon that emits a targeted beam to temporarily incapacitate
people was used during the protest Saturday. They say they will file
charges with the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts
against those who ordered the attack.
Serbia has not denied that it has the acoustic device in its arsenal.
At least 100,000 people descended on Belgrade on Saturday for a mass
rally seen as a culmination of monthslong protests against Serbia’s
populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.
The rally was part of a nationwide anti-corruption movement that erupted
after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s north
in November, killing 15 people.
Almost daily demonstrations that started in response to the tragedy have
shaken Vucic’s decade-long firm grip on power in Serbia where many blame
the crash on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of
construction safety regulations, demanding accountability for the
victims.
Footage from the rally show people standing during 15 minutes of silence
for the rail station disaster while suddenly experiencing a whooshing
sound that immediately triggered panic and a brief stampede.
An Associated Press photographer at the scene said people started
scrambling for cover, leaving the middle of the downtown street almost
empty as they started falling over each other.
Those exposed to the weapon experience sharp ear pain, disorientation
and panic, military experts say. Prolonged exposure can cause eardrum
ruptures and irreversible hearing damage.
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Protesters march during a major rally against populist President
Aleksandar Vucic and his government, in downtown Belgrade, Serbia,
Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, a non-governmental
organization, condemned “the unlawful and inhumane deployment of
prohibited weapons, such as acoustic devices, against peaceful
protesters.”
“This act represents a blatant display of force and an attempt to
incite chaos, aiming to delegitimize protests and criminalize
peaceful citizens,” the group said.
Serbian police and the defense ministry denied that the illegal
weapon was used.
The Serbian president on Sunday urged judicial authorities to
respond to the information "that sonic cannons were used during the
protests," the state RTS broadcaster reported.
“I am asking … the ministry of justice and the prosecutor’s office
to react, either to prosecute those who used it, and we know they
didn’t but let’s check," Vucic said. “Let there be a proceeding but
then they should also prosecute those who went public with such a
notorious lie.”
Belgrade’s emergency hospital has denied reports that many people
sought help after the incident and urged legal action against those
who “spread untrue information.”
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