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The present situation

The Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office has announced it is directing the police to identify and question all persons who publicly claimed a sound cannon was used against protesters on March 15, 2025 - as well as those who organized medical examinations of those present. The actions are conducted under suspicion of preparing an act against the constitutional order and security of Serbia, and are based on a narrative first put forward in a report by Russia's Federal Security Service. The announcement comes fifteen months after the incident, during which the case remained in pre-investigation status, without charges against those who allegedly deployed the weapon. Military analyst Aleksandar Radić, one of the most prominent commentators on the case, had multiple locations searched by police on June 22; the following day, he was summoned to the Military Police for forensic analysis of his seized computers. Editor-in-chief of srbin.info Dejan Zlatanović and a lawyer Aleksandar Olenik were also summoned for questioning by the police.

The prosecution's actions are running in full coordination with statements by President Vučić, National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić, other ruling party officials, and media aligned with the authorities, which have launched special broadcasts and published numerous articles claiming the incident was staged. Brnabić stated that allegations about acoustic weapons were intended to portray President Vučić as a killer and to threaten him and his family.

July

In June 2026, the Kofi Annan Foundation published its Electoral Vulnerability Index 2026-2027, giving Serbia a Risk Index of 48.8 - the highest score of any European or EU-candidate country in its published country analyses, after Russia - and estimating an 89.6 percent probability of electoral violence around the presidential and parliamentary elections expected in 2027. The report cites the absence of consecutive peaceful elections, government intimidation, media imbalance and escalating street politics as the main drivers, and recommends that authorities and international partners agree on minimum electoral conditions before the campaign begins.

On 1 July 2026, the Basic Court in Pancevo found ETF student Andrej Tanko guilty of obstructing an official under the Law on Public Order and Peace, sentencing him to a suspended six-month prison term with a two-year probation period. The charge concerned an August 2025 protest during which Tanko allegedly sprayed a police officer with water. His defense called the process politically motivated and announced an appeal to the Higher Court in Pancevo. Tanko became a symbol of non-violent student resistance in December 2024.

On 1 July 2026, police questioned SRCE party leader and member of Parliament Zdravko Ponoš for about ninety minutes at the request of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, examining whether his March 2025 tweet - accusing President Vučić of using a "sound cannon" against protesters marking the Novi Sad tragedy - constituted causing panic and disorder. Ponoš said he was also asked about contacts with military analyst Aleksandar Radić. He said an official record of the interview reached pro-government broadcaster Informer within minutes of it ending.

Key Issue

In numbers

Rotating selection of numerical data drawn from CRTA+ monitoring. Quantitative indicators can often reveal patterns, scale, and change more clearly than narrative descriptions alone, helping to illustrate how political and institutional developments unfold over time. The figures shown here reflect different aspects of CRTA+ monitoring and are updated as new data becomes available.

10,560

mentions of 'color revolution' in 12 months on 12 online portals

days between sessions on average in the 14th convocation, up from 27 previously

75%

of content about Russia on TV is positive