Where does the probe into the sonic weapon used on March 15 stand?

Civil society organizations have collected testimonies from more than 3,000 citizens regarding the incident, which took place during a peaceful protest on March 15. Witnesses described hearing a sound unlike anything they had encountered before, an experience many found difficult to put into words. It was most commonly described as a deafening roar resembling a jet engine or a passing train, occasionally accompanied by a distinct wave of heat.

Ilic says the legal process is barely off the ground.

“A few days ago, the First Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade responded to a request from the NGO CRTA for access to information of public importance, saying that the case is still in the preliminary, pre-investigatory phase. The authorities have yet to determine the legal classification of the incident regarding the use of a sonic device or weapon. They have taken statements from approximately 170 citizens and have said that more interviews are required before further steps can be taken to establish the facts,” Ilic said.

The Prosecutor’s Office said that it has obtained reports from the Internal Affairs Ministry, the Ministry of Defense, the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), and the Ministry of Health, along with surveillance footage from several locations identified by witnesses, he explained.

“However, we do not know which locations these are, nor what the footage contains or reveals,” Ilic added.

Public deserves answers, witness accounts sent to European Court

Ilic noted that in September, the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK) ruled that the case did not fall under its jurisdiction, which he described as a controversial turn.

“The public, and specifically the citizens who were targeted by this device on March 15, have a right to know the basis on which TOK decided not to act, especially since multiple criminal complaints were filed for acts of terrorism. We deserve to know how they reached that conclusion,” he emphasized.

The Belgrade Center for Human Rights has since forwarded the collected testimonies of those who suffered physical or psychological effects from the device to the European Court of Human Rights.

On the domestic front, Ilic believes the authorities have failed to take the case seriously. He noted that TOK effectively recused itself from the matter by labeling its reasoning a “state secret.”

The expert also pointed out the government's shifting narrative: officials initially denied possessing sound cannons altogether, only for it to later emerge that the state does indeed have them in its arsenal.

Finally, Ilic noted that the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed it had not requested the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct any part of the investigation.