Belgrade Prosecutors Weigh Charges Against Students Over Sound Cannon
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office suspects students planned to stage a sound-cannon incident at the March 15 protest and is checking for elements of subverting the constitutional order.
- Belgrade's Higher Public Prosecutor's Office suspects students planned to stage the use of a sound cannon at the protest on March 15, 2025.
- Prosecutors say minutes from a meeting on January 22, 2025 were found in documents seized at the Faculty of Philosophy.
- The office has asked investigators to check for elements of inciting a violent change of the constitutional order.
- Around 200 people gave statements, and 47 citizens filed applications with the European Court of Human Rights over the March 15 events.
Belgrade’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office has signaled it may charge students over an alleged plan to stage the use of a sound cannon at the large protest on March 15, 2025. Prosecutors suspect an organized act rather than a spontaneous incident. No guilt has been established by a final ruling against any person.
According to prosecutors, the key document is the minutes of a meeting of the “Students in Blockade” group held on January 22, 2025. The document was reportedly found among materials seized at the Faculty of Philosophy on March 27, 2026. Prosecutors claim the sound cannon was discussed at that meeting.
The office says participants then took coordinated steps to simulate the use of an acoustic weapon during the planned protest. The aim, according to the suspicion, was to create panic among the public and fear among citizens. Students and part of the opposition firmly reject these claims.
What exactly are prosecutors alleging?
The prosecution has asked the counter-terrorism service to determine whether there are elements of the crime of inciting a violent change of the constitutional order. That is one of the most serious offenses in Serbian law. The matter is still at a pre-charge stage, with information only now being gathered.
On the prosecution’s order, the service has been tasked with identifying every person who attended the meeting in question. Prosecutors also want the distribution of roles established and the alleged organizer named. They have asked why some security members removed protective vests during the protest.
In parallel, the Special Department for High-Tech Crime ordered police to urgently identify those who sent email threats to President Vucic and the chief prosecutor. The threats reportedly arrived after the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office issued its statement. The senders’ identities have not been officially established so far.
How are the other side and lawyers responding?
Students and part of the opposition reject the prosecution’s claims and the statements of Ana Brnabic. They say this is pressure on protest participants rather than a grounded suspicion. The legal background of the case is also being tracked by the non-governmental sector.
Lawyers from the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights say around 200 people gave statements to the First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office over the March 15 events. By their count, 47 citizens have filed applications with the European Court of Human Rights. That gives the case an international dimension as well.
No indictment has yet been filed in connection with the alleged sound-cannon simulation. Prosecutors are collecting evidence, and the outcome will depend on findings by the relevant services. Whether the suspicions hold up in court will only become clear through a formal evidentiary process.
So I ask you: where is the line between a legitimate investigation and pressure on those who took to the streets?
