While Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and VJT seek to find those responsible for the spread of panic at Saturday's rally in Belgrade, civil society and the opposition claim they have enough evidence to file a lawsuit against the state for the alleged use of a sound cannon or another similar weapon.
After the incident at yesterday's protest, for which there are claims that it was caused by a sound cannon or some similar means to break up the demonstrations, there are more and more requests for the relevant state institutions to react, starting with the republican public prosecutor, and to determine and explain what really happened and what caused the confusion and the consequences for the participants of the rally.
President Aleksandar Vučić believes that this is not necessary.
Visiting today's Government session, the President of the Republic of Serbia asked the Minister of Justice, Maja Popović, that her ministry and the prosecutor's office "react and or prosecute those who used it, and we know that they did not." He spoke about the sound cannon that was allegedly used during the 15-minute silence on March 19 at 11:15.
Who is not guilty?
And then he said:
"Let it be checked, let the proceedings be initiated." But let them prosecute all those who went public with such a notorious lie. Someone must be criminally and legally responsible for spreading such brutal misinformation, trying to mislead the entire public, bring unrest and continue causing disorder on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Either the state will function or you will hide before that April 15, so that we all admit that we are incompetent and that we are not doing our job. Because if that's not enough of a call to the prosecutor to act, I don't know what else should be a call. Please just do your job and nothing more. And that the truth be communicated to the people".
VJT
The Emergency Center and the Minister of Health Lončar immediately announced that no one had contacted them with complaints caused by the sound cannon, and the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office then ordered the First Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, stressing that "after the Emergency Center's denial that it treated dozens of citizens with complaints from the sound cannon, to file a case and order the identification of the person who spread such false information in the public."
"The order was issued due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that the criminal act of Causing Panic and Disorder under Article 343 of the Criminal Code was committed in this way," announced VJT.
The announcement of VJT does not mention that they will investigate what happened at the meeting on Saturday at 19:11.
Responsibility is sought.
Lawyer Rodoljub Sabic, the president of the Civil Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and a former commissioner for information of public importance, said in a written statement that "the official announcement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) that the police did not use a 'sound cannon' because they supposedly 'do not use illegal means' is absolutely insufficient".
According to him, since doubts have already been publicly expressed about the type and origin, as well as the method of procurement of that technology, it is necessary for an independent investigation to clarify all the relevant circumstances in connection with it and ensure the prerequisites for the responsibility of all actors, starting from the illegal disposal of budget funds for the procurement of equipment whose use is prohibited and ending with the concrete application at the meeting in Belgrade.
The lawyer of the Belgrade Center for Human Rights, Vladica Ilić, says that a large number of citizens contacted his organization and other civil society organizations regarding the mentioned event.
"For now, we can say that we certainly have enough factual material that indicates that it may be a criminal offense of provocation and general danger, and I would not even rule out that it is a more serious offense, if the intention was to intimidate the population," Ilić points out.
The legal team of the National Movement of Serbia, said Miroslav Aleksić, the president of this movement, "is preparing criminal charges against the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic and others responsible and will submit them to the prosecution, and Dacic must answer who from the MUP illegally acquired that dangerous tool that can seriously endanger people's lives and health." Responsibility must be established".
The European Movement in Serbia (EPuS) demands from "Minister of the Interior Ivica Dačić as well as the Supreme Public Prosecutor to conduct an urgent investigation and initiate proceedings against those responsible for the mass attack with an unknown sonic weapon".
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