Balkan Legal News - 15 September 2023

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 8 September to 14 September 2023.

Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.

Slovakia – 14 September 2023

Migrants have been arriving in Slovakia in ever-larger numbers, attracted by a document introduced by a former Smer government five years ago which they believe, wrongly, grants them the right to stay in the EU. The country’s neighbours are making the situation worse. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Hercegovina – 14 September 2023

After serving a sentence for war crimes, Esad Landzo apologised to his victims and made a film to show his remorse. But his reconciliatory efforts ended in failure – another consequence of entrenched post-war enmities, he tells BIRN. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 13 September 2023

Police are searching for six daring thieves believed to have dug a tunnel into the Higher Court’s storage rooms in the capital, Podgorica, where trial evidence including guns and drugs are stored. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Hercegovina – 12 September 2023

State Investigation and Protection Agency officers arrested five former Bosnian Serb Army officers and soldiers suspected of involvement in the genocide of Bosniaks from Srebrenica in July 1995. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 12 september 2023

After two armed clashes between people-smuggling gangs, in which two persons were killed, Serbian police launched an operation in the north of the country, searching for suspects and weapons. The full article can be found here.

Moldova – 12 September 2023

A suspect was detained by the authorities at the Moldovan border after being accused of making a death threat against a gay man who was photographed with a rainbow flag at a Pride march in Chisinau. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 11 September 2023

Defence teams for former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and his co-defendants tried to undermine claims that Kosovo Liberation Army fighters committed war crimes by pointing out possible mistakes in Human Rights Watch reports. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 11 September 2023

Sladjan Trajkovic, a former member of Serbian forces who is accused of committing crimes against civilians in the Vushtrri/Vucitrn area in 1999 during the Kosovo war, pleaded not guilty at his trial in Pristina. The full article can be found here.