Leaders of destructive sects may use acoustic weapons to control members of their organizations, according to Alexander Amaryan, the head of the Center for Aid and Rehabilitation to the Victims of Destructive Cults.

As the expert pointed out at news conference entitled Sects as a Cause for Murders and Suicides, “in contrast to hidden hypnosis or other psychological methods acoustic or ultrasonic weapons affect everyone. The weapon, currently freely available, can turn even the most well-balanced of men into an aggressive and unpredictable person.”

Sonic and ultrasonic weapons (USW) are weapons of various types that use sound to injure, incapacitate, or kill an opponent. Some common bio-effects of weapons include effects to the human central nervous system resulting in physical pain, difficulty breathing, vertigo, nausea, disorientation, or other systemic discomfort. Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results.