The Serbian ambassador to Britain has insisted critics should “wait for the results” of an independent investigation, following claims an illegal sonic weapon was used against protesters earlier this month.
He told Sky News’s Yalda Hakim on The World that no illegal sonic weapon was used at the anti-government protest – and that “independent experts” have been invited to investigate the claims.
“According to statements of our government officials…nothing [illegal] was used that day,” Goran Aleksic said.
“Independent experts were invited to come to Serbia to do a thorough analysis of this. And I think the best thing is to wait for the results of that and then to draw conclusions.”
More than half a million people have signed a petition calling for an independent investigation – with recent footage adding to the mounting speculation surrounding the dispersal tactics used during the 15 March demonstration attended by tens of thousands of people in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade.
The incident took place during a 15-minute period of silence in the demonstration to honour the victims of the Novi Sad disaster, when a concrete canopy at a railway station collapsed, killing 16 people.
In video footage, protesters were seen holding up their lit mobile phones, when suddenly there was a swooshing sound, and the crowds started running away.
Sonic weapons, which are illegal in Serbia, emit sound waves that can trigger physical and psychological effects, including dizziness, severe headaches, sharp ear pain, disorientation, eardrum ruptures, or even irreversible hearing damage.
A drone view of the rally. Pic: Reuters
Serbia’s populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, has dismissed the allegations that a sonic weapon was used at the peaceful protest as “lies and fabrications”.
Ilic Sunderic, who was at the rally said it was “quiet and peaceful and then we heard something we could not see… like a sound rolling toward us”.
It was, she said, “a subdued sound lasting only two to three seconds but very unusual and very frightening, like a sound from hell.”
“I have been going to protests for 30 years, but I’ve never heard anything like this,” she added.
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The anti-government rally took place in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. Pic: AP
Hundreds of others have offered similar accounts to hers, and officials have issued often contradictory denials, prompting calls for answers.
Several Serbian rights groups said on Tuesday they have taken the issue to the European Court of Human Rights, after collating more than 4,000 statements from people who complained of various physical and psychological problems after the incident.
