Platform for European Serbia: Summoning Ponoš to UKP is intimidation and persecution of government critics

The Platform for European Serbia has strongly criticized the summoning of Zdravko Ponoš, president of the Serbia Center (SRCE) party, to the Directorate of Criminal Police (UKP). The platform described the action as an attempt to intimidate citizens and persecute those who criticize the government.

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the authorities are attempting to intimidate citizens and persecute those who criticize the government, instead of conducting an independent investigation into whether sonic weapons were used against demonstrators on March 15, 2025, in Belgrade.

Instead of launching an independent investigation into the alleged use of sonic weapons against demonstrators on March 15, 2025, in Belgrade, authorities are resorting to such measures. The platform found it scandalous that the record of Ponoš's informative interview was immediately read on a "regime media outlet" even before he had left the police building. This, they stated, "best reflects the state of institutions in Serbia."

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This best reflects the state of institutions in Serbia.

"While the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) has not yet been formed, and the authorities are doing everything to devalue the process of its establishment, the question arises whether certain parts of the police apparatus have taken over its role and become a service for regime media outlets," the statement read. The Platform recalled that international institutions have warned Serbia's authorities to refrain from using sonic weapons against peaceful demonstrators and to conduct a thorough investigation. "In democratic states of the European Union, this way of using the police and prosecution for political purposes would be unacceptable," the statement added. The Platform for European Serbia reiterated its stance that Serbia's membership in the European Union signifies more than a foreign policy goal. It means building a state where institutions serve citizens, not a single party, where regulators regulate media, and police enforce the law, rather than jointly suppressing free public discourse.

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While the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) has not yet been formed, and the authorities are doing everything to devalue the process of its establishment, the question arises whether certain parts of the police apparatus have taken over its role and become a service for regime media outlets.