The Platform for a European Serbia issued a sharp condemnation on Wednesday, characterizing the police summons of Zdravko Ponoš, president of the Serbia Center (SRCE) party, as a blatant attempt to intimidate citizens and persecute political dissidents.
Ponoš was called in for an “informative talk” by the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP). The opposition coalition argues that instead of targeting political leaders, the state should be conducting an independent investigation into whether acoustic weapons (sonic weapons) were unlawfully deployed against demonstrators during the March 15, 2025, protests in Belgrade.
A Breakdown of Institutional Integrity
The Platform described the handling of the police interrogation as scandalous, revealing that the official minutes of Ponoš’s interview were read aloud on pro-government media outlets practically before he had even exited the police building.
According to the coalition, this coordinated leak perfectly illustrates the weaponization of state structures:
- Media Servitude: The alliance questioned whether sections of the police apparatus have bypassed legal protocols to act as a direct information pipeline for propaganda channels.
- Regulatory Vacuum: The incident occurs while the Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) remains completely unformed, a delay the opposition claims is being deliberately engineered by the ruling regime to devalue independent media oversight.
International Warnings Ignored
The opposition alliance reminded the public that multiple international institutions have previously issued stern warnings to Belgrade, demanding that the government refrain from utilizing acoustic crowd-control weapons against peaceful protesters and launch an immediate, transparent inquiry into the March 2025 events.
The Path to European Standards: “In democratic EU member states, using the police and the judiciary for political theater would be completely unacceptable,” the Platform statement read. “Membership in the European Union is more than a foreign policy goal—it means building a state where institutions serve citizens, regulators oversee media, and the police enforce the law rather than colluding to suppress free speech.”
About the Coalition
The Platform for a European Serbia represents a unified front established by the European Movement in Serbia (EPuS) alongside prominent pro-European opposition parties and movements, including:
- Srbija Centar (SRCE) – Led by Zdravko Ponoš
- Free Citizens Movement (PSG) – Led by Pavle Grbović
- Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) – Led by Dragan Đilas
- Solidarity Movement – Led by Goran Ješić
