FLASH NEWS
Sound weapons used at Belgrade rally, protesters demand international investigation
2025-03-18 08:21:00 / BOTA
Calls have grown in Serbia for an independent investigation into reports that security forces used a banned stun gun against crowds at a large peaceful anti-corruption rally last weekend, although authorities vehemently denied it.
Human rights groups and opposition officials in Serbia claim that such a weapon, which fires a directed beam to temporarily incapacitate people, was used in Saturday's protest, even though it is banned in Serbia.
They said they would file lawsuits in international and domestic courts against those who ordered the attack.
Serbia's authoritarian and pro-Russian president, Aleksandar Vučić, again denied that crowd control equipment was used, calling it an "evil lie" intended to "destroy Serbia."
He said he would soon invite the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 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 a sonic weapon was used.
Serbian officials have indirectly acknowledged that the police added the crowd-control weapon to their arsenal about two years ago, but insist it was not used during Saturday's protest.
In its online petition, signed by over half a million people, the opposition movement "Change" asked the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for an independent investigation "into the use of a sonic weapon on March 15 against peaceful protesters in Belgrade."
The petition calls for the investigation to "include the medical, legal and technical aspects of its impact on health and human rights."
Former Serbian President Boris Tadic also said he "will seek international assistance to determine the truth about the events that caused a serious violation of public safety and endangered the health and lives of Serbian citizens at Saturday's protest."
Hundreds of thousands of people descended on the Serbian capital on Saturday to protest the deaths of 15 people when a train station shelter collapsed on Nov. 1. The near-daily demonstrations that began in response to the tragedy have shaken Vucic 's decade-long rule, with many blaming the accident on widespread corruption in the government.
Footage from the protest shows people standing in silence for 15 minutes for the train station victims when suddenly a sharp sound causes panic. An Associated Press photographer at the scene said people began to scatter in panic, leaving the city's main street almost empty as they fell on top of each other.
Safety experts say those exposed to the gun experience sharp ear pain, disorientation and panic. Prolonged exposure can cause ruptured eardrums and irreversible hearing damage.
Many of those who say they were at the epicenter of the suspected attack complained on social media of severe headaches, nausea and disorientation.
Some security experts have claimed that the American Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) — a specialized device that emits high-frequency sound waves over great distances — was used during the protest. These claims cannot be independently verified.
Vucic, who says the protests led by university students are part of a Western conspiracy to oust him from power, has warned that anyone spreading disinformation will be held accountable in court.
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