Human rights groups call for an investigation into the sonic attack at Belgrade's rally

Human rights groups have accused the Serbian government of using a sonic weapon to disperse a massive protest in Belgrade. However, the authorities have denied these claims, stating that their security forces did not deploy a sonic weapon to intimidate protesters at the anti-government rally.

Serbian rights groups and opposition officials alleged about "the unlawful and inhumane deployment of prohibited weapons, such as acoustic devices, against peaceful protesters."

According to local media reports, around 7 p.m. on Saturday, during another 15-minute silent tribute to the victims, a sudden eardrum-splitting, whooshing noise ripped through the crowd on Kralja Milana Street. 

The crowd dispersed on all sides, with many people falling over and being injured. Local outlets speculate it was a sonic cannon, a controversial crowd-control device also known as a Long-Range Acoustic Device or LRAD, that emits high-frequency sound waves capable of causing pain, disorientation and long-term hearing damage.

In its online petition signed by over half a million people, the opposition Move-Change movement asked the United Nations, Council of Europe as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for an independent investigation “into the use of a sound cannon on March 15 against peaceful protesters in Belgrade.”

The petition demands that the investigation “includes the medical, legal and technical aspects of its impact on health and human rights.”

"We urge individuals of integrity within state institutions, especially in the security sector, to resist complicity in unlawful actions against citizens. We call on them to publicly disclose information about the weapons used, who issued the order for their deployment, and who carried it out. Additionally, we stress the urgent need for an independent commission to thoroughly investigate the unlawful use of these weapons," - the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), an independent think-tank, said in the statement. 

The organization added that the use of acoustic devices and similar weapons was illegal, as they were not listed among permitted crowd-control measures under the current Police Law. "Their deployment is also deeply inhumane, causing immediate and long-term health consequences, including reports of citizens experiencing severly high blood pressure, disorientation, panic attacks, and nausea. The proximity of the “Narodni Front” maternity hospital to the deployment site raises grave concerns," - the statement reads.

Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs attempted to legalise acoustic devices as crowd-control tools through a 2022 draft law on internal affairs. Following public pressure, the draft was withdrawn. A new draft law is currently under development, though it remains undisclosed to the public. Its adoption is expected by late June 2025.

On Monday, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic denied that the crowd-control device was deployed, calling it a “wicked lie” aimed at “destroying Serbia.”

He said he will soon invite the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and also Russia’s Federal Security Service, FSB, to investigate the claims.

“It is important for history to see how they lied,” he said, referring to those who claim the sonic weapon was used.

He stated that Serbia would not allow a scenario similar to the Ukrainian Maidan, emphasizing that Serbians seek to change their government through democratic elections, not through street protests.

“We got the message. Everyone in power needs to understand the message when so many people are protesting. We’re going to have to change and learn from it,” Vučić said.

More than 100,000 protesters descended on Serbia's capital Belgrade on Saturday in one of the largest rallies in decades, with students and workers facing riot police and supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic.

Serbia has seen months of anti-government rallies after 15 deaths from a railway station roof collapse triggered accusations of widespread corruption and negligence.

Groups of students set off on foot from southern Serbia towards Belgrade a week ago, fully aware that the government would do everything it could to prevent them from reaching the capital for the weekend protest. Along the way, they were greeted with fireworks and traditional snack ćevapi. In villages where mayors loyal to the regime had locked schools and gyms to prevent overnight stays, local citizens opened their doors, offering protesters a bed and a shower. Thousands of people walked across Serbia toward the capital during these days.

On Friday, the state railroad company announced that “due to a bomb threat” all train services in Serbia will be suspended indefinitely. The state-owned bus companies cancelled all connections to Belgrade. 

Experts estimate that between 200,000 and 300,000 people gather around the “Slavija” roundabout on Saturday afternoon – more than when Milošević was overthrown. The Serbian Ministry of the Interior admits 107,000 participants.

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