A new investigation by the Serbian magazine Radar magazine claims that senior state officials held a series of tense meetings ahead of the March 15, 2025 protests in Belgrade, allegedly discussing the use of force against demonstrators.
According to the report, Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, repeatedly warned during the meetings that “there will be bloodshed,” raising concerns among police leadership about how the state intended to respond to the expected mass protest.
Internal Tensions in Security Meetings
The article claims that during one meeting in the interior ministry, Vučić sharply criticized Ivica Dačić, accusing him of being too soft in dealing with demonstrations expected to gather hundreds of thousands of people.
Sources cited by Radar say police leadership also discussed the possible use of LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) systems — often referred to as “sonic weapons” used for crowd control.
Police colonel Radoslav Repac reportedly asked superiors how such equipment should be used. According to the report, he was told that “all means permitted by law” could be deployed.
Allegations of Sonic Weapon Deployment
Radar reports that on March 15, 2025, a LRAD 450 device was allegedly mounted on a police vehicle near the National Assembly of Serbia during the protests.
The device can project highly concentrated sound waves over distances of up to 500 meters in noisy environments and up to 1,700 meters in quiet conditions, according to technical specifications cited in the investigation.
Witnesses interviewed by the magazine claim that the sound waves were felt by people near Hilton Belgrade and even at Slavija Square, roughly one kilometer away from the suspected source.
Role of Security Forces
The report also describes a planned police intervention strategy called the “volcano formation,” which would involve police units advancing in a cone-shaped formation to split the crowd and push protesters away from parliament.
However, according to Radar, the plan was ultimately not implemented due to the large number of demonstrators, although other forms of force were allegedly considered.
Expert Warnings
Security analyst Predrag Petrović from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy told Radar that the alleged use of sonic weapons against peaceful protesters marked “a turning point” in the government’s response to public demonstrations.
He warned that such tools can cause serious health consequences and described them as “experimental technology” when used in crowd-control scenarios.
International Concerns
Following the incident, the European Court of Human Rights reportedly issued an interim measure urging the Serbian government to refrain from using sonic weapons, while Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, warned about the possible use of experimental devices against civilians.
To date, there has been no independent international investigation into the events of March 15. Analysts say establishing responsibility—from operational police units to the political leadership—would require a transparent inquiry within Serbia itself.
