The European Court of Human Rights decided to partially grant the applicants' requests and issue an interim measure in the case of Đorović and Others v. Serbia.
As announced by the European Court of Human Rights, the case concerns the alleged use of sound weapons to control gathered citizens by the authorities at demonstrations and concerns that the same could be used at future demonstrations.
"The applicants requested that the Court issue an interim measure obliging the Serbian authorities to (i) prevent the use of sonic weapons in such circumstances; (ii) prevent the prosecution of those participating in the public debate on the use of sonic weapons on 15 March; and (iii) conduct an effective investigation into the allegations that sonic weapons were used," the statement reads.
It is added that the court pointed out to the Serbian Government that any use of sound devices to control gathered citizens should be prevented.
"Measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court shall be taken in connection with the proceedings before the Court, without prejudice to any subsequent decisions on the admissibility or merits of the case. The Court shall grant such requests only in exceptional cases, where the applicants would otherwise face an imminent risk of irreparable harm."
The request was submitted by 47 Serbian citizens.
"On 15 March 2025, the applicants took part in a protest in Belgrade. While observing 15 minutes of silence in memory of those who died after the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, at around 19 p.m. loud noises and airwaves disrupted the gathering. The applicants allegedly experienced intense instinctive fear, panic, shock, rapid heartbeat, trembling, hearing problems, vomiting, nausea, tachycardia and similar symptoms. Some allegedly suffered physical injuries as a result of the ensuing panic. Up to 4.000 people reported their experiences of the incident. On 24 March 2025, the applicants asked the Court to, in particular, draw the attention of the Serbian authorities to the need to prevent the use of such means against demonstrators at future protests."
The statement says that withThe UD (a panel of seven judges) decided on April 29 to issue a provisional measure.
"In relation to the applicants' request that the Court indicate that the State should prevent the use of sound weapons or similar devices at future protests by the State and/or non-State actors, the Court indicated to the Government of Serbia that, until further notice, any use of sound devices for crowd control (except for communication purposes) must be prevented in the future. The Court stated that the use of such weapons for crowd control is unlawful in Serbia and, in particular, that it could potentially cause serious health consequences for a large number of people.
The European Court of Human Rights also stated that the applicants' other claims were assessed as not falling within the procedure under Rule 39, and the Court did not issue interim measures in this regard.
"The Court underlined that the decision does not mean that it has taken any position on whether such weapons were used on 15 March 2025, and that it does not prejudge the outcome of any application that the applicants may submit. The applicants have one month to submit an application under Article 34 of the Convention (right to individual application)," it said.
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