The European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, has issued a scathing critique of Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, accusing her of manufacturing a toxic environment to sustain a targeted witch-hunt against political dissidents through state-controlled media networks.
The diplomatic clash centers on the highly controversial March 15, 2025, Belgrade student protests, where authorities are accused of deploying an acoustic crowd-control weapon, or “sonic cannon,” against peaceful demonstrators. Picula noted that the hyper-aggressive, paranoid rhetoric emanating from top government officials signals deep regime vulnerability ahead of anticipated snap elections.
Russia’s FSB Deployment Questions Serbia’s EU Path
Picula fiercely condemned Belgrade’s decision to bypass independent international bodies and instead invite Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to perform the technical audit of the acoustic incident. The FSB subsequently issued an unsigned report denying the use of sonic weaponry, which President Aleksandar Vučić has used as an institutional shield.
“Their so-called commitment to the European Union is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that they invited agents of the Russian FSB to investigate this serious incident,” Picula stated on the social media platform X. “This is an incredible move for a candidate country. It not only raises severe doubts within European institutions, but fundamentally calls into question Serbia’s principled commitment to the European path.”
THE BELGRADE SOUND CANNON ESCALATION MATRIX
LEGISLATIVE ACCUSATIONS (BRNABIĆ) STUDENT & EP RESPONSES (PICULA)
───────────────────────────────────── ───────────────────────────────────
• Claims the sonic cannon affair was • Over 3,000 citizens reported
fabricated by foreign agencies. severe vertigo and ear trauma.
• Asserts the narrative was designed • Students prove the VJT "evidence"
to trigger an assassination of Vučić. was a routine safety risk assessment.
• Weaponizes the Higher Public • Picula accuses the state of using
Prosecution (VJT) to target youth. the FSB to whitewash police violence.
Assassination Claims vs. Student Safety Blueprints
The rhetoric from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) escalated to extreme levels on Friday, when Brnabić publicly asserted that the “sonic cannon lie” was “orchestrated with the explicit goal of assassinating President Aleksandar Vučić and triggering a bloody civil war in the country.”
The Higher Public Prosecution Office (VJT) in Belgrade backed this narrative, alleging they obtained leaked documents showing that the student movement, Students in Blockade, had pre-planned a “simulation” of a sonic attack to frame the police.
However, the student organization completely dismantled the prosecution’s claims on Friday, publishing proof that the document in question:
- Was authored two months prior to the March 15 protest.
- Was a standard, internal tactical safety assessment mapping out potential risks of aggressive police interventions.
- Was designed to protect peaceful students during their planned all-day blockade of a major Belgrade intersection.
Picula concluded by revealing that the European Parliament is currently drafting a specialized Resolution on Polarization and Escalating Police Violence in Serbia. He emphasized that the personal, baseless attacks launched against him by high-ranking Serbian officials only solidify European consensus regarding Belgrade’s systemic erosion of rule of law and democratic standards.
