March 25, 2025.
Last night, the European Court of Human Rights asked the Republic of Serbia to answer questions about the possible use of sonic weapons at the protest in Belgrade on March 15, 2025. Our country has been given a deadline of March 31 this year to declare whether illegal means were used against the demonstrators, what is the legal basis for the alleged use of such weapons, and what are the protection measures against the arbitrary use of such means. The deadline for submitting the answer of the State of Serbia is next Monday, March 31, 2025.
Civil society organizations: Belgrade Center for Human Rights, Crta, FemPlatz, Civic Initiatives, Initiative for Economic and Social Rights A11 and Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights – YUCOM appealed to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of 47 citizens of Serbia, and on the occasion of the event that interrupted the 15-minute delivery of mail to the victims of the tragedy at the Novi Sad train station.
In the submission sent to the Court in Strasbourg for the imposition of temporary measures, civil society organizations pointed to the fact that the 15-minute silence for the victims of the fall of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad was violently interrupted by the use of a still unknown and dangerous sonic or other similar means that caused bodily harm, great anxiety, panic and stampede of the gathered, as well as that over 4,000 citizens of Serbia contacted our organizations who testified about what happened, who reported a series of health problems, physical injuries, physical and psychological problems and/or symptoms.
We remind you that the highest officials and representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Serbia denied that the state possesses any type of sonic weapon, and then, under public pressure, they showed that there are at least 16 LARD[1] devices of various strengths within the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia. Please note that the use of such weapons in Serbia is illegal and that, accordingly, the procurement of such weapons was not carried out in accordance with the applicable regulations.
The European Court of Human Rights also asked the citizens who addressed the Court to provide concrete information by March 31, 2025, especially regarding the health condition and health consequences suffered by citizens of Serbia who were exposed to the effect of sonic or similar means during a peaceful protest rally in Belgrade on March 15, 2025.
Our organizations will continue to help citizens in establishing the truth about the event of March 15, protecting their rights and interests in proceedings before international and domestic bodies.
[1] Eng. Long-range Acoustic Device