BELGRADE / STRASBORUG – On 24 March, the European Court of Human Rights requested that the Republic of Serbia provide answers to questions regarding the possible use of sonic weapons at the protest in Belgrade on 15 March 2025. The deadline for these answers is 31 March.
This was announced yesterday by a coalition of Serbian civil society organizations which submitted a request on behalf of 47 citizens of Serbia.
“Serbia’s deadline to respond is next Monday, 31 March 2025…The European Court of Human Rights has also asked the citizens who approached the Court to submit, by March 31, 2025, specific information regarding their health conditions and any resulting consequences for the health of those exposed to sonic or similar devices during the peaceful protest gathering in Belgrade on March 15, 2025”, reads a statement published by Crta, Belgrade-based think-tank.
The CSOs reported that more than 4,000 citizens of Serbia have contacted them about what happened, reporting a range of health issues, physical injuries, and physical and psychological problems or symptoms.
The largest protest in the history of Serbia on 15 March was marked by disturbing videos of the crowd abruptly dispersing from a street in downtown Belgrade during 15 minutes of silence for the 15 victims of the Novi Sad tragedy. Hundreds of witnesses described a sound akin to a passing plane or a train descending on them, which caused significant distress, panic and numerous injuries.
Serbian officials were forced to admit last week that there was a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) on the streets of Belgrade on 15 March, which they had previously denied. However, they maintain that it was not used as a “sound cannon” against the protesters.
The prosecution, which has launched an investigation into the event, has not provided an alternative explanation of the scenes seen at the protest.
Serbian Government announced last week that it would seek engagement from the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to determine what happened during the protests, claiming that it has “nothing to hide”.
On 26 March, pro-Russian Vice President Aleksandar Vulin announced for the Radio-Television of Serbia that “FSB experts” would be coming to Serbia to examine the issue.