Balkan Legal News – 19 February 2026

The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 12 February to 18 February 2026. Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, 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.

Guernica 37 Balkan Legal News

Serbia – 18 February 2026

The family of French citizen Jean-Michel Nicolier, who was killed while defending the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991, has urged Serbia, via its embassy in Paris, to extradite a Serb they claim is the main suspect. In a note signed by their legal representative in France, Nicolier’s mother, Lyliane Fournier, and his brother, Paul, called on the Serbian authorities to hand over the man they hold responsible for his killing. They are also seeking compensation of 200,000 euros. The full article is available here.

Serbia – 18 February 2026

Student protest groups from three Belgrade University faculties said on their Instagram accounts that dozens of fellow students were arrested late Tuesday at a demonstration in a park in the Serbian capital, mostly on their way home after it had ended. “The police are chasing and arresting [protesters] … They are everywhere. On the side streets, around the university and student dormitories”, said a post by Students in Blockade, one of the main Instagram accounts for student protesters. Videos published on social media showed police in full riot gear chasing people through the park and arresting them. Serbia’s Interior Ministry has yet to confirm how many were held. The full article is available here.

Kosovo – 17 February 2026

As Kosovo marked its 18th anniversary of the country’s independence declaration on Tuesday, the main square filled with people protesting against the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court as the trial of four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders enters its final stage. Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi are accused of having individual and command responsibility for crimes committed against prisoners held at KLA detention facilities in Kosovo and neighbouring Albania, including 102 murders, during the 1998-99 Kosovo war. Prosecutors are seeking 45-year jail terms. The full article is available here.

Bosnia & Hercegovina – 17 February 2026

The appeals chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Hercegovina, the country’s state court, has confirmed the first-instance verdict from July last year convicting Slavisa Djeric and Nenad Ujic of the inhumane treatment of civilians detained in Rogatica, eastern Bosnia, during the 1992-5 war in Bosnia. Djeric and Ujic were wartime members of the Bosnian Serb Army’s Military Police and guards at the Rasadnik detention facility in Rogatica. They were found guilty of the inhumane treatment of civilians from July to December 1995. The full article is available here.

Kosovo – 16 February 2026

Brothers Dragisa and Jovan Vicentijevic and Igor Dimovic pleaded not guilty on Monday at the Pristina Basic Court to charges related to the canal explosion in the village of Varage in Kosovo’s northern municipality of Zubin Potok in November 2024. Kosovo’s Special Prosecution filed an indictment in December 2025 charging them with terrorism, espionage and weapons-related offences. Prosecutors allege that the Vicentijevic brothers, along with others yet to be identified, planted about 20 kilograms of TNT in the canal. The full article is available here.

Bulgaria and Romania – 16 February 2026

The Bulgarian and Romanian services of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) are set to cease operations on 31 March, ending two of the most prominent Western-supported journalism initiatives active in the contemporary media environment. The closures follow the ending of RFE/RL’s Hungarian service on 21 November and are reported to be the “direct result of the Trump administration’s drive to choke off federal funds for RFE/RL, Voice of America and the other public media outlets supported by the US Agency for Global Media”. The full article is available here.

Kosovo and Albania – 13 February 2026

Kosovo’s parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for a fair trial for four ex-Kosovo Liberation Army leaders on trial in The Hague for war crimes. The resolution states that “[Parliament] requests the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office … to ensure the strict implementation of constitutional and international standards relating to a fair and impartial trial, while also respecting the principles of transparency, accountability and the cultivation of public confidence in justice”. The full article is available here.

Greece – 12 February 2026

Norwegian police on Wednesday told Tommy Olsen, founder of the Norwegian campaign group Aegean Boat Report (ABR), that Greece has issued a European arrest warrant for him, along with an extradition request. The warrant was issued back in December but Olsen has not yet received it, and may not do so until a formal arrest procedure is carried out. Greece accuses him of participating in a criminal organisation that helped migrants to cross from Turkey to Greece in 2021. The full article is available here.