United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs have requested an official response from the Republic of Serbia concerning allegations surrounding a sound cannon.
UN Special Rapporteurs, as announced by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, have published official communication with requests addressed to the Government of Serbia regarding events on March 15 in Belgrade, when a peaceful gathering of a large number of people was violently interrupted at 7:11 PM, allegedly by the use of a sound weapon.
It is stated that in the official communication sent to the state of Serbia, UN rapporteurs highlighted that the received information about the events of March 15 raises serious concerns regarding the full implementation of the Serbian Government’s obligations to respect and protect rights and fundamental freedoms under international human rights law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as obligations arising from the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, including specifically the failure to protect demonstrators.
UN Special Rapporteurs expressed serious concern about the increasing restriction of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and especially about the alleged use of an illegal sonic device, which led to numerous further claims of injuries and health problems caused by this weapon, it was announced.
They also note that, as stated, Serbia has an obligation to regulate and supervise the production, procurement, and use of equipment used by the police and law enforcement agencies, and that particular caution is needed when using experimental weapons, which include sonic devices, because their nature is not sufficiently known, nor have the medical and other effects of their application been sufficiently investigated.
“These weapons and devices pose a risk of causing temporary or permanent hearing damage, depending on the model, distance, and duration of exposure. They can be misused indiscriminately against crowds of people or used to cause injury. Their effect, which relies on sensory disorientation and whose effects are general rather than targeted, can cause dangerous stampedes and chaotic behavior, affecting both demonstrators and bystanders. Although we cannot confirm that such weapons were used in this particular case, the evidence we have received indicates that their use caused mass panic, which is contrary to the precautionary principle,” states the letter from the UN Special Rapporteurs addressed to the Government of Serbia, as reported by BCLJP.
It is added, according to the NGO, that if such a weapon was used to disperse peacefully assembled people, this constitutes an unlawful breaking up of a peaceful protest, and that the alleged use of such a weapon was particularly disproportionate and cruel at the moment when the participants of the gathering were silently paying tribute to those who died in the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad.
Six UN Special Rapporteurs requested additional information and comments from the state of Serbia, including those related to: measures Serbia has taken to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent, and effective investigation into the alleged use of sound/acoustic weapons for the unlawful breaking up of a peaceful assembly on March 15; the legal basis for such weapons, prior authorizations, chain of command, and justification for use; the possession of less-lethal weapons that Serbia has acquired or produced, including acoustic or other soundwave-based weapons; as well as information on the number and types of injuries caused by the use of the aforementioned device.
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Source: N1, Photo: ATAImages