Serbia invites US and Russia to investigate sonic cannon

Serbia's outgoing Prime Minister Miloš Vučević said he has sent a request to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Russian Security Service (FSB) to conduct independent investigations into whether or not a sound cannon was used in the March 15 protest in Belgrade.

Speaking to Serbia's Pink Television, Vučević said that he has officially signed the documents and that, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, namely the Serbian embassies in Washington and Moscow, he has sent the requests to the security services of these countries.

"With the greatest responsibility I can say that, on March 15, at no location was a sonic cannon or anything similar used. No order was issued for it and no one saw that device. It is impossible for there to be no health injuries at the moment that device is used. It causes immediate consequences," said Vučević.

Earlier, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that Minister Ivica Dacic has sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, inviting him to assist in an analysis in the field of the use of devices that emit sound waves.

The assistance was said to have been requested “given that the Ministry of Interior has faced public and media accusations that its members used a 'sonic cannon' during a public rally held in Belgrade on March 15”.

Dacic told the "Danas" portal that the police possess sonic weapons, or "sonic cannons", and that these systems, which were purchased in 2021, are owned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Dacic said that these systems are stored in boxes in the warehouse, that they are owned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but that they have not been put into use and have not been mounted on any vehicle or system.

Previously, senior Serbian state officials insisted that neither the police nor the army possess "sonic cannons."

"It was an unclear statement. What was meant by it was that the Ministry of Interior has not included this tool in its arsenal of coercive means," Dacic told Danas.

Officials also denied the allegations of the international non-governmental organization, "Earshot", which, based on analysis of videos and audio recordings from the March 15 protests, stated that the sound produced by the Vortex Ring Gun, or Vortex cannon, can be heard in them. REL (A2 Televizion)