'Like a sound from hell': Was an illegal sonic weapon used against peaceful protesters in Serbia?
'Like a sound from hell': Was an illegal sonic weapon used against peaceful protesters in Serbia?
Serbia's populist government is facing increased public scrutiny over reports that it used a sonic weapon against a peaceful crowd during a massive anti-corruption rally in the capital, Belgrade, on March 15.
Could a potentially trained group of protesters resist this? Say, if leaflets were explaining the effects of this thing, could people bear it and march on?
It's coming. Protesters need to be prepared for it.
Apparently you just need to hold the leaflet or another piece of paper between you and the cannon
What if I had a sound mirror? Would that save me
They'd treat you the same way they treat people who throw back the gas canisters.
Why the inquisitive tone? I understand that the AP is aiming to be non-partisan, but FFS it was clearly an LRAD. Video and victim accounts line up with previous available material about the weapons. Add to that the photographs of LRADs deployed to the area at the time of the incident - this isn't some Sherlock Holmes mystery, if there's another entirely different weapon which can spur widespread, instant crowd panic without making a sound then I'm all ears, because I've never heard of it. Re-linking footage of the attack from URL used in other comment. Watch the crowd of hundreds reacting to nothing observable at the 0:07 mark
"When presented with photos of the device mounted on an off-road vehicle and deployed at the rally of hundreds of thousands of protesters, officials admitted possessing a sonic weapon, but insisted it was not used against the protesters."
Liars.
What confuses me tho is the fact that government itself welcomed external investigators to prove no such device was used. If you were at fault, you don't normally welcome investigators to look into you, but might just be mind games
That is a bit of an odd sticking point, honestly it makes me wonder if they thought it would be possible to obfuscate investigations and conceal the identities of Police involved.
It's relatively new, in terms of weapons. They've apparently been adopted on some domestic U.S. military bases as a means to repel attacks, but I haven't seen any news reports of people rushing the gates. It's extremely effective for "area denial", and its potential use against demonstrators (peaceful, not rioting) will inevitably cause fatalities - I guarantee that it won't be long before it's used in a situation that doesn't merit the use of force. Someone will die, hearings will be held, nothing will happen, and it will continue to be used to abuse and assault participants of marches, sit-ins, etc. during scenarios where there was no hazard to Police.
see: truncheons, fire hoses, tear gas, rubber bullets...
Fuck that. You just know that as soon as they were issued the weapon, the entire department drew lots to see who got to use the shiny toy on protesters first.
I am from neighbouring Croatia, I fully despise their government and leader Vučić, a lot of fake hateful propaganda towards Croatia, a lot of corruption in their country. I hope they succeed in renewing their country and improve institutions.
Craziest part is that Vučić claims no such weapons were used during moments of silence and corrupt doctors claim no people arrived at hospital with symptoms from attack. Absolutely discusting lies that makes everyone who knows justice wanna act furiosly.
Does anyone know if noise cancelling works against or diminishes this sound?
No, your airpods will not protect you from this. Not only will the sheer volume of sound overwhelm their tiny ANC speakers, but sonic weapons affect more than just the eardrum. They can affect your heart, lungs, and other organs.
Exact right, as it's untrasonic, the sound is transmitted directly through the target's body. Noise canceling earphones/plugs will have no protective effect whatsoever.
I watched a video after this happened where a guy was testing defenses. He tried what he called electric headphones that I'm guessing are noise canceling, and they made it worse. Best defense was ear muffs and a riot shield.
Video: https://youtu.be/CXKTBQBugIA
No, the sound is transmitted through the body rather than just via the auditory system in such a way that simply plugging or covering your ears will provide no protection from the effect. As analogy, imagine the effect of a train whistle or jet engine on someone who's within 1-25 ft., but 100% deaf. It wouldn't need to be heard by their ears per se as it would be so powerful as to be transmitted into the target's body, which would reacts accordingly to a 100+ decibel sound.
Absolutely not 🤦♂️
I would think it provides some protection.
This just in: wearing noise canceling headphones to a protest is now illegal.
I'll just leave this here
Now we're talking.
Why is there no sound recording?
Maybe it's a tone above hearing levels like a heavy tinitus attack in your hearing membrane.
There is. Watch the video. That noise isn't just the crowd screaming.
I watched the original video when it dropped but couldn't discern any sound from the weapon itself. Watch the clip here - the crowd reacts at the 0:07 mark without any discernible loud sound, although it was described by victims as "being like a train whistle" (i.e. excruciatingly loud and panic-inducing).
It's in the video. Is it not there anymore in the article?
There is, you just can't hear the weapon in the footage of the attack on the vigil.
In the same way that human ears can't hear much of the noise happening around them, we wouldn't be able to hear recordings of the weapon in use because it's ultrasonic. Picture a literal dog whistle and our inability to hear it despite it fully capturing a canine's attention, except as a restricted military-grade weapon for injuring and dispersing crowds.