Following the dramatic police raid and subsequent military interrogation of prominent military analyst Aleksandar Radić, pressure is mounting on top opposition figures linked to the ongoing “acoustic cannon” fallout.
Speaking exclusively to Danas, Zdravko Ponoš, the leader of the Serbia Center (SRCE) party and former Chief of the General Staff, delivered a scathing rebuke of the regime when asked whether he expects to be the next target of state searches and police summons. Ponoš’s own social media posts from the night of the crackdown have been targeted by pro-regime state media for days.
“They Use the Logic of a Criminal Clan”
Ponoš argued that attempting to predict the legal maneuvers of the current administration through a judicial lens is impossible, as their actions are purely political.
““It is not easy to assess with certainty what the authorities will do because their logic is not judicial,”” Ponoš told Danas. ““A person would have to lower themselves to the limits of their malice and adopt a criminal mindset to gauge what their criminal clan will do next. For them, anyone who does not work for their clan is a blood enemy, even if that means the majority of Serbia.””
Ponoš fiercely rejected accusations by President Aleksandar Vučić that opposition figures are “upsetting the public” or plotting to overthrow the state:
- Shattering the Law: Ponoš countered that it is Vučić himself who has dismantled Serbia’s constitutional order, while ““the people are actively defending it on the streets.””
- A History of Fearmongering: The SRCE leader listed a litany of terrifying public statements made by the President over the years to keep the population on edge—including threats of overflowing cemeteries during the pandemic, impending wars, snipers, and terrorists.
The Acoustic Cannon Crackdown Loop:
[March 15, 2025] -> Massive student-opposition protests in Belgrade; reports emerge of sonic weapons being used. Ponoš tweets about the acoustic cannon.
[June 22, 2026] -> State prosecutors revive the case, claiming a January student meeting proved a conspiracy. Police raid analyst Aleksandar Radić.
[June 23, 2026] -> Režim media relentlessly broadcast Ponoš's 2025 tweets; Ponoš issues defiance to Danas.
The Ghosts of March 15 and the “Orban Warning”
The political temperature in Belgrade has skyrocketed as state media aggressively revisits the events of March 15, 2025, when a historic, massive student-led opposition rally paralyzed the capital. The state prosecutor’s office recently claimed that student organizers had discussed the deployment of a sonic dispersal device as far back as January 2025, using it as a legal pretext to launch the current wave of raids.
Ponoš dismissed the entire judicial push as a clumsy cover-up designed to intimidate the regime’s critics.
““This has absolutely nothing to do with a legal investigation. This is about intimidation, the persecution of political dissidents, journalists, and free-thinking people,”” Ponoš concluded. “”Vučić has dug himself into a deep hole. My advice to him is to stop digging—that is not how you get out of a pit. He should study the lessons of Viktor Orbán’s famous downfall, though it looks like it is already too late for him.””
With President Vučić publicly backing the actions of the Military Police and demanding that all individuals who claimed a “sonic cannon” was deployed step forward to explain their sources, the clash between the security apparatus and opposition leaders is rapidly accelerating ahead of the high-stakes political rallies scheduled for late June.
