Balkan Legal News - 24 November 2023

The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 17 November 2023 to 23 November 2023.

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.

Kosovo - 23 November 2023

The prosecution at the Kosovo war crimes court accused Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi of attempting to interfere with witnesses and obstruct their testimonies and called for visits to the defendants to be curtailed; see here.

Balkans - 23 November 2023

A Council of Europe report said that ex-Yugoslav states’ failure to fully confront war crimes continues to affect people’s human rights and warned that a resurgence of ethno-nationalism could threaten the peace; see here.

Kosovo - 22 November 2023

At the war crimes trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army member Pjeter Shala in The Hague, the prosecution sought to undermine an ex-guerrilla who was testifying for the defence, claiming he repeatedly changed his testimony; see here.

Serbia - 22 November 2023

(Comment) The Vucic government has an arsenal of dirty tricks up its sleeve to make sure elections don’t produce any ‘surprises’ – but the capital could still deliver an upset; see here.

Bosnia - 22 November 2023

Ten former soldiers were sentenced to a total of 162 years in prison for participating in the mass execution of 24 Bosniak civilians in the Bosanski Novi area in June 1992; see here.

Bosnia - 22 November 2023

Bosnia’s state court upheld a verdict acquitting the wartime commander of the Bosnian Army’s Fourth Corps, Ramiz Drekovic, of ordering artillery attacks on civilian targets in the town of Kalinovik in 1995; see here.

Kosovo - 20 November 2023

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the alliance is considering making permanent an increase in its military presence in Kosovo that came after violence erupted in northern Kosovo in September; see here.

Kosovo - 20 November 2023

The first hearing in the trial of wartime Serbian fighter Cedomir Aksic, accused of involvement in killings, ethnic cleansing and destroying property during the Kosovo war, was held in his absence at Pristina Basic Court; see here.

Croatia - 17 November 2023

(Comment) The anniversary of the fall of the Croatian city of Vukovar to Belgrade’s forces in September 1991 shows how Serbia refuses to face up to its past, preferring a narrative of perpetual victimhood, says political researcher Nikola Gajic; see here.