Balkan Legal News - 22 September 2023

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 15 September to 21 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.

Bosnia and Hercegovina – 20 September 2023

The Bosnian state court in Sarajevo found wartime Bosnian Army ex-soldier Almir Sarajlic guilty of the killings of 12 Croatian Defence Council prisoners of war on December 22, 1993. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The full article can be found here.

Moldova – 20 September 2023

The Constitutional Court’s judges ruled that members of the Shor Party, led by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who has been convicted of grand theft, cannot participate in any elections in the next five years. The full article can be found here.

North Macedonia – 20 September 2023

North Macedonia’s opposition VMRO DPMNE party leader Hristijan Mickoski accused his predecessor, fugitive ex-premier Nikola Gruevski, of conspiring to help the current government push through constitutional changes and divide the opposition. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 20 September 2023

Witnesses told Pristina Basic Court that war crimes defendant Caslav Jolic participated in the beating of an ethnic Albanian man who assisted foreign journalists at a Serbian helicopter crash scene in the Istog/Istok municipality in 1998. The full article can be found here.

Albania – 19 September 2023

The Tirana Court confirmed that it has accepted an extradition request for Kosovo Liberation Army ex-fighter Dritan Goxhaj, accused of revealing potential protected witnesses’ names in a war crimes case in The Hague. The full article can be found here.

Ukraine – 18 September 2023

Russia urged the International Court of Justice in The Hague to dismiss a case brought by Ukraine accusing Moscow of falsely using the Genocide Convention to justify its full-scale invasion. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 15 September 2023

A former Serbian security service member has been charged by prosecutors in Kosovo over the disappearance of a Kosovo Albanian doctor, Hafir Shala, who went missing in April 1999 and has never been seen since. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 15 September 2023

Outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said authorities will likely soon solve the case of the Higher Court 'tunnel' robbery, while Justice Minister Marko Kovac confirmed that 19 firearms were stolen from the court's stores. The full article can be found here.